Innocent Masks
by Experimental Madness
Summary: We have all heard the tragic story of the Phantom of the Opera and his love for Christine...what if there was another before that story?
1. Stumbling in the Dark

I'm absolutly insane! Right, this is another version of my Haily and Erik stories (if you have any idea what I'm talking about, if not...here is a phan phiction.XD) ...since my other one is turning out to be COMPLETLY different from what I had invisioned. I made a new one, I might continue working on the original one for my own amusment. I have this particular story posted on another sight, but I wanted some more critique so I decided to post it on fanfiction! If anyone has any good advice on how I can alter a few things, please let me know! But don't...flame! I can't stand flamers, they wreck the review section and they don't help me at all. Now, obviously this is only the first chapter so please do not jump to conclusions about the character's personality just yet. Give them a few chapters and then you'll start to seem some shtuff. Ignore my horrible grammer, I will be fixing that as I go along. All right, other than that, please, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Phantom of the Opera.**

* * *

I

Stumbling in the Dark

There was no moon on the seventeenth of December. It was dark, darker than any shadow that plays and dances upon your walls in the flicker of your night light. The wind hollowed in its endless dirge like chant, seeking no rest, seeking no refuge. Yet, it was on this night that innocence would make its mark upon corruption.

Throughout this blackness, walked a small young creature, her short legs barely keeping her balanced as she trundled through the empty streets and boulevards. Her travels came to an abrupt end as she gazed up at a rather large fence. She blinked, perhaps if it was a bit brighter that night you would have been able to see the extraordinary jade coloring of the girl's eyes, or the cat-like essence they carried in them.

She backed up slightly, her mouth partially agape as she stared at the object which blocked her travels. She was about to turn around and head off down yet another twisting path when she heard a small thump against the fence. She stared back up at it and was amazed when she saw the head of another little boy, not much older than herself, appear from the other side.

The boy must have noticed her as well for her stopped and froze completely, not daring to climb fully over the fence. The girl blinked and cocked her head to one side; rarely did she encounter other humans, especially a human of her own age.

The boy swung himself over the fence and jumped down from that exact height. The girl stepped back out of nervousness and fright at this sudden action. He turned to face her, black eyes with an emptiness in them that was so shocking to be seen in one so young caught the cat eyes of the young girl. She could not tell what he looked like, for the boy wore the oddest looking garment about his face; a white mask.

She approached him cautiously; she had never been told how to act among people before. She lowered her head and clutched her hands together, as if hoping to shrink into herself. He took a step closer to her as well. He stood a full foot taller than she, and something about his presence made him feel twice that height. There was a certain importance, a way that he carried himself that made her feel even more childish and frightened.

"Who are you and what do you want?" The question was simple enough, but the voice nearly knocked the girl over backwards. It sounded of bottled light and a beauty that was beyond mere words. If angels could speak, this is what they would have sounded like. She made no answer, only backed further away from this strange little boy.

"I asked you a question." He snapped, clearly having no patience with her. He acted like a fully grown adult and his choice of language and tone in which they were used suggested a most unusual intelligence. She cringed and wrung her tiny hands together, seeking to screen herself from him as much as possible.

"What is the matter with you? I asked you question now answer me!" he growled at her. She almost let out a whimper and took a step back as he took one towards her.

"Can't you speak?" he sighed impatiently.

She shook her head, clearly used to only being asked yes or no questions. It was not her fault _they_ never taught her anything useful.

This seemed to put a stopper on the boy's already overflowing temper. "Oh." he said in shocked surprise. "How old…are you?" he said, curiosity taking a hold.

She held up her fingers and he counted on them. "Three?" he asked her making sure that was correct. She nodded her concordance. "Three and you do not now how to speak?" he said, almost not believing it himself. Again, she could only nod her acknowledgment.

"You do know your name?" he continued questioning her; the girl was beginning to intrigue him.

She nodded once.

"Do you know how to say it?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Then tell me it!" he snapped, his temper rapidly changing.

"H-H-H-Ha-Hai-Hail-l-l-y-ly-Ha-ai" Her tongue slipped around the words, her own name was a struggle to pronounce.

He stopped her with a wave of his skeleton like hand. "Your name, if I am not mistaken, is Haily?"

She nodded, lowering her head in embarrassment. "Come closer so I can see you, Haily." He demanded.

She shuffled herself forward timidly, already put off by the boy's demeanor, but frightened by his temper enough so that she would not disobey him. She came so that she was only two inches in front of him. She raised her head to look up at the masked boy. She heard him gasp and recoil. She stayed where she was, eyeing him confused as far as she was concerned she had done nothing to permit such harsh actions.

He re-collected himself and took a step closer to her, his eyes now completely fixed on her face. "Do you have a family?" he asked, his voice, although beautiful, was still harsh and degrading.

She nodded shyly.

"Do they know where you are currently?" he questioned.

She shook her head.

"Then shouldn't you head back to your home?" He sighed.

She shook her head.

"What's the matter with you girl?" he gritted his teeth.

She cocked her head to one side, he was exactly the same age as her, why did he address her as if he was twelve years her senior?

"Do you not _want_ to go home?" he asked.

She shook her head; she didn't like it when she was at home.

"What about your parents? Won't they be worried about you?" he pestered.

She shook her head. In all truthfulness they would consider it a blessing that she had finally ran off accidentally or purposely.

"Then where do you plan on going to?" he smirked, crossing his arms.

She shrugged, fear shining in her eyes. She could not answer his questions.

"You don't even know?" he nearly laughed. "Stupid girl, well where ever you are going I hope you get there soon, because I can not waste anymore of my time talking to a mute!" he shoved her roughly out of the way and began to walk onward.

She followed him, like a shy, timid little puppy. Frightened, but curious; on top of all this she was lost, and he was the only person who had spoken to her longer than ten minutes.

The boy turned in a whirlwind. "What are you doing following me?" the masked boy hissed. "Go away!"

She cowered back, tiny hands wrung with fright. He did not turn around; instead his gaze began to soften suddenly. "You need a new home, is that it?"

She perked up nodding vigorously to show her understanding. The boy walked over to her; she whimpered and backed away, not wishing to be yelled at again. "No, no…" the boy said, almost in a soothing way. "Come here." He said softly. "I won't hurt you."

She took a few steps forward, head lowered. He raised it, and did not flinch at the sight of her. "I can give you a home…" The girl's head snapped up, eyes wide in disbelief. "But…" he cautioned. "I can not guarantee that it will be a good one."

She shook her head, she either cared not, or she was oblivious to the danger he had tried to warn her of. She smiled, the moonlight bouncing off of her face, reveling lacerated lips. The odd glow of the light faded over her entire face, exposing the left half.

A mesh working of scars nearly covered the entire area, the reminders of some freak accident. Places where the pieces of flesh had healed were rough, blackened and reddish, not to mention mix-matched. Her face resembled a giant jig saw puzzle, the puzzle trailed all the way down to the girl's neck, creating an almost mummified appearance. A few of these jigsaw puzzle scars trailed across her nose to end on the right side of her cheek, but these were few and hardly noticeable.

The boy sighed and shook his head back, changing his direction back to his own home. "Come with me."

* * *

"Are you afraid of heights?" the masked boy asked Haily. 

She gave him an odd look, as if trying to understand the question.

"Never mind." He sighed in exasperation.

The oddly masked boy pointed to the tall fence and said absent mindedly. "Climb it."

The girl gave him a blank look, which switched from the boy to the fence and back again.

Air was sucked rapidly in between the kid mask as his short patience was wearing down to the core. "You…climb the fence…or I will leave you…here." He made hand gestures to the young girl. _Idiot, why did I even bother offering my help to the likes of you!_

She pointed to herself with a tiny finger and then looked back at the fence. She shrugged her shoulders and slowly began her ascent to the top. With a grunt of exertion she heaved her tiny form onto the top of the fence. There she waited; she gave a small nervous little giggle and waited for her newfound and strange companion to find his way up.

"You think this is funny?" the boy called to her as he scampered up the fence with out much of a struggle. "Do not make me sorry I spoke with you tonight, you little ignorant cat."

Funny, when did he start calling her a cat? Perhaps it was the fact she was so silent and staring. Or was it because she was so small and scared like a regular ally cat? Whatever the case, it would serve as a good nick name for this simplistic child.

She looked away as the harshness and mocking ness of his tones came to her ears. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I won't laugh again, I promise!_ She thought sadly.

He did not give her reaction much thought. "Come, you do not want to be found here do you?"

She shook her head and allowed herself to be helped down from the fence. He looked around, yellow eyes glowing from inside of his white mask, making him even more frightening. "See that window?" he asked pointing to one of the rooms that stood at least twenty feet off of the ground.

She nodded in response.

"That's mine and I would usually climb up there, but I fear it would be much too high for you to handle…what's your name again?" he questioned as he rapidly changed the subject.

"H-h-ha…" she began to stutter again.

He waved his hands. "Wait, I'm sorry I asked."

She seemed to scowl this time; it would appear his rudeness had finally gotten through to her. _I'm not an idiot you know…at least not as stupid as you are!_

"Do not growl at me, Haily, or I'll send you right back out on those streets do you hear me?" he scowled right back at her.

She looked away again, those blank little green eyes never truly giving away her thoughts and feelings.

"Right…" he straightened up a bit and made a motion with his skeleton hand to follow him. "I suppose we shall have to try a different approach to enter tonight."

What was he saying? She cocked her head to one side; no matter she knew the signal of 'follow me' well enough. She waddled off after him as only a young child could.

They made their way to the grand looking front door, which stood a whole three feet higher than the tiny excuse for a girl. Her mouth was an O in wonder of this very large house.

"Be silent." He warned. "Not one sound, do you hear me?" he whispered fervently.

She nodded vigoursly in understanding and watched as he quietly opened the doors. She winced right along with him as the door made even the slightest creak in its post. At last he managed to get it open enough for their thin frames to sneak on in.

"Ah…" she gasped as the darkness of the large house hit her; she blinked her tiny eyes to fervently adjust to the lighting to which there was none.

A cold, bony hand was quickly slapped across the girl's mouth. "Shh…" he hissed, his yellow eyes dancing with deadly seriousness.

She stared back at him, wild eyed in a slight panic for he was cutting off her breath. She clawed in the air with feeble hands, as if pleading for release, which he did rather quickly. Haily sucked in breath gratefully and shot him a look of utter contempt for his actions. _Well, there was no need for that…_

He returned the loathing gaze and tilted his masked face towards a shadowy outline, which must have resembled stairs, from the way they seemed to be stacking up upon one another in the gloom.

He began to make his way up the staircase, with Haily following right behind him, struggling for a little ways as she tried to hoist herself up upon each step. When they reached the top of the staircase he took her into his room. Very quietly he laid down a blanket for her on the floor, near the corner of the room. "You…" he whispered. "Sleep there for now and don't wander off, understand?"

She nodded, much to tired to argue or protest she crawled over to her space on the floor and curled herself up. She blinked eyelids heavy with exhaustion and with a final yawn she fell asleep the events of the day resting heavily upon the young child's mind.


	2. A Silence Broken

Weee! The next chapter is up! I hope you like it...I apologize for the random fluff that might insue in this chapter and it a few chapters later on...bare with me, they are still children after all!

* * *

II

A Silence Broken

Haily had already woken early that next morning. She was sitting up in the corner with the blanket wrapped around her so only her head poked out from the fabric.

"Promise me you'll stay up here." The masked boy said tonelessly, standing by the doorway.

She nodded in response, and as he turned to leave she let out a slight cry, "Ah!"

With a glare of impatience he turned back around, "what?"

She fumbled for a moment before pointing to herself and saying, "H-h-haily…" then she pointed to him, her eyes searching.

"Erik, my name is Erik. Now stay here and keep quiet..." he shut the door roughly behind him.

She huddled back under the sheet…"E-e-erik…" she whispered.

* * *

The door opened again a few minutes later; Haily poked her head out from the safety of her sheets to see a golden spaniel standing in the doorway. Haily's face brightened into a beaming smile. "Ah!" She giggled slightly.

The dog stepped timidly over to the toddler. Haily shed her blanket and sat cross legged upon the floor, starring up at the dog. The spaniel sniffed her clothing, face, and hair. When she pulled away she let out a faint sneeze. Haily giggled again, but her giggled turned into a gasp when she heard a familiar voice, "Sasha!"

Erik appeared by the doorway, and quickly moved the spaniel away from Haily before the dog overwhelmed her small size. "S-s-sasha!" Haily repeated.

Erik was staring down at her oddly when she spoke again, "S-s-sasha…." She then pointed over up at him, "Erik!"

Up until that point he hadn't heard her speak without a stutter or a tremble in her tongue he kneeled down so that they were staring at eye level, the green of her eyes staring at the mismatched of his yellow ones. "Erik." She repeated slowly, thinking perhaps she had made a mistake.

"You can speak, normally?" he questioned.

"S-s-speak n-n-normally." She repeated, stuttering. She was just repeating what he was saying, and had said previously.

An idea suddenly occurred to him; why couldn't he teach this little girl to speak? As of now he had no idea how to cure her of her unfortunate stutter, but maybe that would disappear in time with proper speech. "Stay here." He ordered, getting up.

"S-s-stay h-h-here…" Haily repeated proud at her new found speech skills.

"No." Erik said and he pointed to her and the room. "Stay, don't come out of the room."

She nodded, "D-d-don't c-c-come o-o-out of th-the r-r-room." She snuggled into her blankets, pulling them back over her head.

"That's right." He said, leaving the door half shut as he exited the room.

Haily waited with Sasha as she heard him walk down the staircase. She let out a sigh, curious to know what was out there, beyond the door. Sasha nuzzled her and Haily's attentions were jarred a little she smiled at the kindly dog, letting Sasha lick her scarred face with her rough pink tongue. She giggled quietly glad for the little company she had in this lonely room.

It was not long before Erik was back, carrying a few books at that. He shut the door and put the books down by Haily. "These are for you." He said.

She just stared at the books then up at him curiously. Then, reaching slowly as the blanket fell off of her and down around her waist she picked up one of the lighter books and opened it.

Her fingers traced over a few words and her eyes scanned the pages, full of wonder and curiosity at the thing. "It's a book." Erik said, sitting beside her.

"B-b-book." She repeated tracing the spine.

"You read it." he explained, "here." He took the book from Haily, "I'll show you."

He began to read aloud to her, stopping to explain the words to Haily and slowly as the hours ticked by. She seemed to understand. She smiled and listened happily as Erik read.

* * *

Days went by and Haily's mind was becoming more astute to the world, although she knew not much of it. As she was only allowed in Erik's room. Sadly though, as she learned to speak her stutter never did seem to begin to fade away. It was obvious that she would be forced to talk with a stutter all her life. This didn't seem to bother her, as she talked whenever she could, and when she couldn't she talked even more so.

She always tried to start conversations with Erik, but the only time he ever seemed to want to talk with her was during their lessons.

It was a gloomy day outside and on occasion a crash of distant thunder could be heard. Haily was sitting on the bed with Sasha by her side; scratching the kindly dogs ears as she watched Erik working on a little desk. He had been sitting there nearly all day, without making a sound.

Trying not to cause to much noise, Haily slid from the bed, leaving behind a very disappointed Sasha, and walked over to Erik and the desk. "Erik?" she asked timidly.

He did not respond; he merely continued with the scritch scratch of his pen on parchment.

She clasped her hands together and walked a bit closer. "Erik?" she asked again.

"What?" this came out more of a disgruntled grunt than an actual answer.

"Wh-wh-what are y-y-you w-w-w-wr-writing?" Haily asked.

"Nothing that you would ever understand." he said defensively.

"H-h-how w-would you k-know?" she retorted; she pulled herself up onto the bed and crawled over to try and catch a glimpse of the paper on the desk.

Erik merely placed an arm around the paper so that she could not see it. With a sigh of resignation Haily gave up. She slid off of the bed and landed on the floor with a light bump. "Wh-why do you w-w-wear th-th-that?" she asked as she walked back to her corner of the room.

"What are you asking about now?" Erik groaned in frustration, slamming his pen down on the desk and turning around angrily.

"Th-That?" Haily pointed to the mask on his face. "Wh-Why do you w-w-wear th-that?"

He reached up to touch the mask, "My mask?"

"M-m-mask…" she nodded.

"My Mama wants me to…"

"W-w-well…wh-why?"

"I…" his voice rose as if he was going to tell her off, but then it softened in confusion…"I…don't know why."

Haily giggled as she fumbled with the blankets by her corner, "Th-Th-then d-d-don't w-wear it."

He sat there a bit dumbfounded at that simple answer; he traced the outlines of the mask with one finger as he thought of what he could possible have to say back in objection.

Haily pulled the blankets up over her head her lacerated, thin lips parted into a smile. "T-t-take it o-o-off." It was more of a suggestion by the tone of her voice than a demand.

Hesitantly and with a slight frown hanging in his eyes he lifted the mask off, gasping as the air hit his face. Haily let out a slight yelp and dived under the blankets, wide eyed and staring.

Erik blinked in confusion at the quaking form of the girl that had just moments ago been laughing and smiling at him. "What is wrong?" he asked, wondering if that was the right thing to be saying at the moment.

Haily didn't respond, in her nervousness it was impossible for her to work around her already clumsy, stuttering tongue. Erik slid off of his chair and walked hesitantly over to her. She pulled back further under the sheets. Her clumps of short curly hair fell down messily in front of her face. "Haily?" He kneeled down in front of the blanket covering her face and lifted it up.

The terrified little girl stared up at the boy…the boy that looked more dead than alive. Then thin layer of skin made it nearly impossible not to see the skull underneath, veins pulsed underneath the skin and his yellow eyes were sunken so deep inside the sockets it was nigh impossible to even make them out, he had no nose to speak off; he looked like a corpse…a living one.

Haily found that she could not tear her eyes away from his face. Then, her green eyes locked on to his mismatched yellow ones. The ceaseless, harsh, pounding of her heart slowed and her breathing returned to normal. Those eyes were…worried? Was he worried for her? Ever so slowly she inched her way out of the comfort and shelter of the blankets to figure out the answer to the question.

Eventually, without her knowing it, she dropped the blankets and positioned herself on her knees; they stared at one another at eye level for a moment or to. The two scarred faces staring back at one another. "What….were you doing?" Erik asked, as if snapping himself out of the silence.

Haily fought for a decent answer. "Y-y-you….you s-s-scared me!"

"Don't be ridiculous, how could I have scared you?" Erik scoffed at her as he stood up and began to wander back over to his chair.

"I…I…" Haily stumbled, something came over her mind then that she should not tell him the truth of what had taken place. "I…I…w-was, just p-p-playing." She forced a light smile onto her face. Then giggled, trying to make this real as possible.

"Then you have an odd way of playing…" he commented, holding the mask in his hands, as if ready to put it back on.

Haily walked over to him and gently took the mask from his hands; turning it over and over, examining it. "Give me back my mask." Erik demanded coldly.

"Y-y-you w-w-will n-n-never have to w-w-wear th-th-this a-a-around m-me, Erik." Haily said, her green eyes still focused on the kid mask in her small hands.

He wrenched the mask out of her hands, causing her to look up at him sharply. He hesitated for a few moments then quietly placed the mask back on the desk. Haily smiled faintly at his actions. Erik sighed in resign of the conversation and turned his back to the girl, returning to his momentarily forgotten work.

Haily peered over the desk, watching the pen scratch its way across the parchment. Quite timidly she stopped the movements by placing a hand on his. He looked down in shock by this simple human contact. She glanced up at him and said. "T-t-teach m-me."


	3. Uncovered

I take a while to update don't I? Terribly sorry for the wait; I've been bombarded with inhuman amounts of homework...anyway the work has lessned out a bit and so...I finished the third chapter. I'm really anxious to move on past this part while they are both children; only I have a little ways to go until I can time skip...curse you coherent plot lines...right basically what I am saying is...bare with me here on the fluff moments; because I can gurantee that some chapters will be fluff free. If I can think of scenerios where I can avoide some fluff believe me I'll use them...if you would like to make suggestions for some future scenes, please suggest away! I might be able to use them later...

* * *

III

Uncovered

Ever since that day Haily told Erik he no longer needed to wear his mask around her things had changed between the two children. Erik seemed much more willing to let Haily talk to him, and for once he never complained about how long it took her to form her words. And Haily eventually learned when and when not to talk to him when he was 'working.'

"Haily." Erik asked turning the little girl sitting on the bed.

Her head snapped up when she heard her name; she looked at Erik oddly, this being the first time he had ever started a conversation with her.

He ignored the look and continued, "Haily I want to ask you something how did you…" he gestured to the left side of her face.

She reached up to touch the rough patches that were once her skin. She kept her face even and answered. "H-h-how d-d-did I wh-what?"

"What happened to you? How did you get those scars? And why were you out that night by yourself?" Erik asked again.

"'s a l-l-long s-s-story." Haily commented with a sigh.

"I assure you, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He said dryly.

"All…all r-r-right. I'll t-t-tell you…" Haily leaned her head against the wall, her eyes staring upward at the ceiling as all too recent memories came back to her young mind…

* * *

"_She'll have that stutter probably for the rest of her life." A professional sounding voice echoed through the house. "Other than that, your daughter is a perfectly healthy child." _

_Three people were standing in the entrance hall to a good sized house. Two of those three people were holding hands and staring hopelessly at the third speaker. The woman had wisps of curly brown hair and they seemed to be coming undone in her ponytail. The man holding her hand tightly had black hair that already seemed to have silver streaks running through it. _

_The third man was much older than the two, his white hair was cropped short and he was carrying a black briefcase, a stethoscope hung around his neck and his mustache twitched slightly whenever he spoke. _

"_Are you sure there is nothing you can do?" the father of the daughter in question spoke up._

_The Doctor shook his head. "There is nothing anyone can do in cases like these. But if you want my advice, continue letting her learn to speak perhaps with the more she tries the more chances she has of overcoming this minor difficulty."_

"Minor_ difficulty?" the mother shrieked. "It's an embarrassment! An absolute embarrassment!"_

"_Hush, now darling; it isn't as bad as all that." The father patted her hand sympathetically._

"_Your husband is right Madame Dalwnay." The Doctor agreed. "Your daughter may outgrow her stutter; I've seen it happen many times."_

_The Mother seemed to relax a bit at this statement. She nodded her head slightly, "Thank you Doctor."_

"_You are most welcome." He said and with a final polite dip of his head to them both he exited out the open door._

_The Mother let out a heavy sigh and released her grip on her husband's hand. "M-m-m-m-mama?" a tiny quite voice called from behind them._

_A young toddler with wide, brilliant green eyes and porcelain pale skin was standing behind the couple. Her curls bounced from side to side as she cocked her head in curiosity._

"_What are you doing out of bed!" Her Mother snapped._

"_I…I…w-w-w-w-w-w-wa-wa…" Frustration shown evidently in the child's eyes as she struggled to speak around the cumbersome stutter._

_Her Mother obviously figured out what she had meant before she finished, "No one cares what you want!" she hissed._

"_Emeline!" The Father interjected, "that is enough. You are tired, go and get some rest." _

_The child stood speechless, her eyes shining with the threat of tears about to fall. With a final look of utter contempt and disappointment her Mother brushed past her daughter to head up the steps to her room._

_The girl's father sighed heavily, then turned to smile down at his daughter. "Come on, Haily, up to bed with you as well."_

_He scooped the girl into his arms and carried her up the stair well to her room. "Now, what were you doing wandering about out of your room at this hour?" her father asked cheerfully._

_No reply came from the toddler, she just remained silently staring. With a look of hopelessness her father carried her into her room, laying her down on the bed gently. "You promise to stay in bed this time?"_

_She looked up at him and for a brief moment flashed a smile and nodded vigorously. Her father laughed, "Good!" He kissed the top of her forehead. "Good night, Haily." _

_She rolled over quickly, completely entwining herself in the sheets of her bed. Haily's Father retreated out of the room, holding the handle of the door as he watched his daughter's chest heave up and down as she slipped into slumber. With a faint smile on his face she quietly shut the door.

* * *

_

_That following morning had Haily up earlier than usual. The first few touches of dawn's light were just beginning to creep into her room through her window. She lazily slid out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes._

_On the floor of her room was her clothing, no doubt put there by her Father; she tiredly put on the white play dress and headed out of her room. Still slightly dizzy from waking up so early she stumbled her way down the staircase; her hand upon the rail to steady herself. _

_Once downstairs she headed into the living room area. Her mother was seated on the sofa, staring out the window with a glassy expression in her blue eyes. Haily tried her best to make her way very quietly across the room in an effort not to disturb her._

"_Haily!" her mother snapped, her head immediately followed her daughter's movement to catch her. "What are you doing?"_

"_I…I…I…" she stood up a bit straighter, taking in deep breaths in hope to block the stutter. _

"_Oh, never mind, why must I bother with you." Her mother dismissed with a wave of her hand. _

_Haily looked crestfallen, she stared helplessly down at the carpeted floor as if searching for inspiration and patience from the colored fibers; when none came she retreated out of the room and into her father's study where he was busy working._

_The door creaked as she pushed it open, poking her head inside; her father looked up, "Good morning, Haily."_

"_M-m-m-m-m-m..." she gave up half way through her answer, growling something inaudible under her breath. _

_He smiled as if he hadn't heard her, "Would you like to come in?"_

_Ashamed of her non existence ability to speak her mind she merely shook her head as if she had only meant to just stop by and find out where he was. She backed out of the room and quietly shut the door again. _

_Scuffling her feet a little on the floor as she walked towards the door that led out to the front of the house her mother stopped her._

"_Where on earth do you think you are going?" she asked snippily._

_She wrung her hands fitfully as she tried to quickly answer, only now being so nervous with the pressure she could hardly form any words at all. Her mother gave another heavy sigh and waved her out the door._

_Glad to be out of the house for a bit she sighed as the crisp air filled her lungs. She wandered through the garden in the front lawn when an idea came into her head. What if she left…just disappeared into thin air? Would her parents worry? She already doubted that possibility. _

_Carefully she wandered over to the gate and unlatched the lock, it swung open on its hinges allowing Haily to quietly walk out into the road. She wandered off down the street secretly wondering if her parent's would even be worried that she had walked off so far. She turned to look back at her house; no one was even near the window to watch her._

_She sighed, and turned back around to continue her trek. An odd noise caught her attention, it sounded like the panicked whinny of distressed horse. She whirled around wildly, just in time to see a brown horse come careening up the road with a cart being pulled roughly behind him. _

_She had no time to react, desperate to get out of the way she made a dash for the side of the road, but the horse was upon her in what seemed like seconds. The horse reared up on his hind legs and struck out at the girl in panic. A hoof came into contact with her head and she fell to the dusty ground, unconscious. _

_The cart still rolled by, the wheels catching the girl and dragging her along at a furious pace, she scrapped across the road and tumbled along the wheels as they tore and trampled across her body, shoving her face into the harsh ground and the spokes of the wheel._

_How she became untangled from the hellish cart she would never know, but as the dust cleared she was left a bloodied rag, lying across the dirt and blood stained road. Her body was broken and ripped in many places, but it was her face that was bloodiest, combined with the rough gravel from the ground and the churning spokes of the wheels her face had literally been shorn away.

* * *

_

_The next thing Haily remembered was coming too in a dark room. Her initial reaction was she had lost her sight, but no; as her eyes adjusted she could make out the outline of her desk and the edge of her bed. _

_Her body was on fire with pain, everywhere was hurting, but most of all her head…she wondered if it was even still there the way it burned like acid with pain. She shut her eyes; she was so tired she just wanted to sleep. But the voices coming outside her bedroom door kept her awake and listening._

"_She is a jinx! A curse! And the day was cursed when I gave birth to that child!" That was her Mother's hysterical voice._

"_Emeline! How dare you say such horrible things…our daughter may be dying…does that not mean anything to you she could be dying!" That was her father…the only one really worried for her._

"_It will be a blessing after what she will be reduced to if she heals." Her mother snapped._

"_Get out!" her father yelled! "I will not have you saying this about Haily, GET OUT!" _

"_Fine, then…I only state the truth," Emeline walked off with a slight smirk and a huff._

_Haily could not listen further, she could feel herself slip into such a deep and welcoming slumber she did not try to stay awake any longer. She fell into a sleep that her body so desperately craved._

_It was two weeks later before Haily woke again. The fire of her wounds had died down considerably, which was a blessing. She could feel the slight weight of bandages wrapped about her head and, what she imagined, her entire body. _

_She could still feel the leaden throbbing of her many bruises on her arms and legs, but they were not the same drumming kind as weeks ago. She groaned slightly as she tried to move, she noticed someone sitting on a wooden chair next to her bed. "D-d-daddy?" she stuttered._

"_Haily?" he looked up at his daughter, "How are you feeling?"_

_She pawed at her bandaged face, but did not say anymore, she shifted positions in the bed slightly; her cuts itched her to aggravation._

"_Haily?" her father was trying to coax her into speaking._

_She did not respond, but continued pawing at her bandages; it was clear what she wanted. Her father shook his head, "Not yet, my dear, not yet. You will have to wait a few more weeks before we can take those off."_

_She groaned in frustration and sat up slightly, tired of being in bed, and feeling the stiffness of unused muscles. "Lie back down now, Haily." Her father pushed her slightly back down on the bed. _

_She shook her head. "N-n-no…" she hissed._

"_I'm sorry, Haily, but you want to get better don't you?" he asked._

_She nodded vigorously. _

"_Then stay in bed for a few more days." _

_She sighed and relented to her father's wishes. She stared at him, through the one eye that was not covered by the hideous bandages. He seemed like he was neglecting to tell her something. _

"_Haily…"_

_She waited for him to complete his thought. "Haily, I'm going to be…going away for a while." He said sadly._

_Going away? Where, and why now? How could he leave now? Her panicked thoughts raced about wildly. He took his daughters hand, "I want you to know something before I go Haily;" he tightened his hold on her hand, "No matter where you go, no matter what happens to you, no matter what anyone else might say about you…don't listen to them. You are a very special girl, my Haily, and you have a very special talent even if you don't know it yet." He touched her nose lightly with a smile on her face. She giggled. "Someday you shall understand." He smiled at his daughter, "So, do I get a hug before I leave?"_

_She giggled again and hugged her father tight; he kissed the side of her head briefly then released her. He stood up from his seat slowly, "good bye Haily." _

"_B-bye…" she whispered, waving a hand faintly. _

_He smiled at her again before walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

* * *

_

_Just as her father predicted it was days before Haily could be up out of bed again; but her mother still refused to take off the bandages for fear of what might be festering underneath. _

_Lately, Haily was trying desperately to overcome her stutter and speak freely, but as often as she tried to speak her mother gave her plenty of reasons not to and plenty of consequences if she chose to ignore those reasons. So after weeks of trail and failure Haily stopped talking altogether. _

_She kept herself away in her room, staring out her bedroom window, waiting for her father to come back again from his trip. On one of those days, the bandages were annoying her terribly. She pawed constantly at the offending objects until she could finally not take it a second longer. _

_Slowly she peeled the white cloth away from her face letting it fall to the floor like fall leaves fall from a barren tree in winter time. She sighed, that was much better the fresh air lapped at her exposed face causing her to blink and adjust her eyes to the lack of the pressure of the bandage. _

_She continued her silent vigil at the windowsill until an ominous squeaking of the floorboards caught her attention. She turned swiftly to see her Mother standing in the doorway. She took one look at her daughter and backed away, her eyes budging out of her head. She opened her mouth and let out a shriek that would break pure glass. _

_Haily winced and covered her ears in the shock of the noise. When the screaming had died down she unplugged her ears. She stared quizzically at her mother; "what, what did you do?"_

_She just shook her head to indicate she had done nothing wrong at all. Wrong answer; "Why did you take those bandages off you foolish jinx!"_

"_I…I…w-w-want…" Haily drew herself up to her full height in hopes of explaining herself._

"_No one cares what you want!" her mother yelled so furiously and with such conviction Haily shrunk under the onslaught._

"_No…no o-o-one..?" she shook her head in question of such a horrid statement._

"_That's right no one, now get those bandages back on your head." Her mother was grinning in wicked contempt._

_She shook her head, her curls spinning wildly about her scarred face. "NO! NO I WON'T I WON'T!" she shouted with so much hatred that the stutter…was gone._

"_Don't you dare speak to me like that, Haily…"_

_Haily swallowed hard and made a dash for the door. Her mother tried to stop her, but she slipped in between her mothers legs and launched herself at the staircase, nearly tripping over all the of the steps before she reached the bottom._

"_HAILY! HAILY GET BACK HERE NOW!" her mother screamed. _

_Nothing was going to stop her now; she was going to leave, she was going to find her father and bring him back home! She swiftly opened the door and bolted into the chilly night streets. The cold wind whipped at her face causing her to gasp in shock, but still wary that her mother might try and bring her back she took off at top speed down the same road she was found ruined at. _

_She didn't care, she wasn't thinking; she ran like a bat out of hell. She was gone…she was gone…

* * *

_

Haily stopped her story; her hands folded awkwardly on her lap; her face taunt with concealed emotion; but her eyes sparkled with something not unlike tears. Erik was staring at her, dumbstruck to silence. He had no idea how he should react; what could possibly be the correct reaction to a story such as hers? He tore his gaze away from the girl and down to the floor. Not a sound was uttered out of either of them.

"Erik?" Haily finally broke the overpowering silence.

He looked up, not trusting himself to speak just yet.

"Are w-w-we….fr-fr-fr-friends?" she asked, "My m-m-mother used t-t-to t-t-talk about fr-fr-friends…and I've al-al-al-al-always…w-w-w-wanted o-one…"She fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably. _No one cares what you want!_ The hateful words of her mother filled her head and suddenly she regretted saying anything at all.

"Yes." Erik said forcefully, friend had been a word that had been a vile mocking sound to him ever since he first had learned what it meant, but now…now it did not seem so terrible. "We are friends Haily….I do not have any, and…and you do not have any…so we should."

"Be fr-fr-friends." Haily finished, her nervousness ebbing away slowly like the tide on the sands of the beach as they slowly pull away the sands and restore them again.

Was Erik smiling underneath that mask of his? She could not tell, but something about the way his eyes were lit made her imagine that he was smiling.

So deep were they in thought a conversation those past few minutes they failed to hear the creaking of the steps, the squeak of floorboards under the pressure of feet and the quiet cracking of a door opening into a room before it was to late.

They could only look up in absolute shock and horror as Erik's mother stepped inside.


	4. Promise

First off I'd like to beg for forgivness. There is so much fluff in this chapter it would cause a plushie to gag. I can gurantee that it won't last for long...the fluff I mean; but they are children...and children will be children...so will you bare with me? There is still a lot of story left and plenty of chances for angst. So please! I beg for forgivness! Other than that...aheh, enjoy!

* * *

IV

Promise

For what seemed like hours Haily and Erik's Mother just stared at one another, as if wondering if what they were seeing was real or some terrible dream that they would eventually awake from. The dream didn't end; and when the terrible silence was cut with words like knives it did nothing to help the children's current predicament.

"Who…who are you?" Erik's Mother asked, but it seemed like a cold, barking demand.

Haily's eyes went wide and her mouth made small hopeless movements, but she knew that no words would ever come out now.

"She…is my friend." Erik suddenly spoke up; he was standing straight up, his eyes boring into his Mothers with a fierce intensity that she had never seen before. His fists were tightly clenched at his sides as if ready to fend his own Mother off if he had to.

"Friends?" Erik's Mother quipped, "You have no friends, now I'll ask again…who are you?" she directed her gaze back to Haily.

Caught in the crossfire she could not answer.

"Haily…her name is Haily Dalwnay." Erik, again, answered for her.

"Oh yes…I believe I've heard your name mentioned before; you were the little girl involved in that horse and carriage accident a few months back…" Erik's Mother said matter-of-factly. "That would explain your missing face…"

"Don't speak to her like that!" Erik spat viciously, "I want you to leave…"

She recoiled slightly at the tone of voice Erik used; "Of course, but your 'friend' must also leave. She needs to go home."

"No she doesn't…she doesn't want to." Erik shook his head.

"How should you know what the girl does or does not want to do?" Erik's Mother asked.

"Because…I t-t-t-told h-h-him…" Haily whispered. She looked up into the staring, judging, hating eyes of the older woman in silent, innocent courage. "I'm n-n-not g-g-going back h-h-home…"

"Then where do you intend to stay?" Erik's Mother said, raising an eyebrow as if in dread of the answer.

"Here, she will be staying here!" Erik said finally. "I promised her I would give her a home."

"You hid this girl here without even telling me! In my own home? I want…" she breathed out attempting to calm down her already ravaged nerves. "I want her out of here by tomorrow."

"No…" Erik retorted coolly.

"It is unfortunately, not for you to decide this time, Erik." His mother said snippily. "By tomorrow…" she said like the final toll of a bell, she walked out of the room shutting the door behind her none to gently.

"I'm s-s-s-sorry." Haily whispered.

"For what?" Erik asked.

She paused for a moment, blinking back a moment's hesitation to that retorted question. "Um…f-f-for getting you into t-t-t-trouble?" it came out as more of a slight question than a statement as it was meant to be.

"That was not your fault." He said in a manner of fact.

"B-b-but…"

"What? You'd rather leave?" he said viciously.

"I n-n-never s-s-said…"

"If you want to go ahead, I won't stop you." He continued.

"I d-d-don't…"

"Why! What do you want to do!" he demanded suddenly.

She stared at him for a moment then spoke. "What do….I w-w-want?" she repeated. "I w-w-want to…st-st-stay."

"Fine." He said crossing his arms.

"All r-r-right…" Haily consented hesitantly.

He let out an annoyed sigh.

"Erik." Haily piped up again.

"What?" he snapped turning to face her.

"Th-th-th-thank you." She smiled.

* * *

The following morning arrived; quicker than Haily would have preferred it to. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she yawned. She blinked to clear her vision that stood up, shaking the blankets from her. "Erik?" she asked sleepily.

When she didn't receive an answer called again. "Erik?" she began to wander the room. He wasn't in bed, or at his desk. The door to his room however, was slightly open and the light from outside was spilling out into the room. "Erik?" she asked again pushing the door open just a bit more.

She could hear music coming from down the staircase. Hesitantly she stepped out into the hallway. Carefully not to make noise as she had been told never to step outside Erik's room. She walked down the stairs, with one hand grasping the railing to hold her steady.

Once she reached the bottom of the staircase she walked over towards the living room where the music was at its loudest. She peered out from the corner, her eyes blinking in rapture as the music washed over her.

Erik was playing the piano…he looked so focused that Haily was not sure whether it would be wise to disturb him or not. Quietly she walked towards him. Her eyes staring up at the keys of the instrument in wonder and awe that they were the source of the beautiful sound.

She began to sway with the rhythm of the music. Her smock swished around her ankles. She did a slow turn about, smiling; she did it again and again. Until, not even realizing it she was dancing with the music. Her hair twirled about her face; she was so involved in her own world that she failed to notice that the music had stopped.

After a few minutes she paused in her slow spin dance and looked back up at the piano. Erik was staring down at her; although she could not see his face his eyes displayed a mixture of curiosity, and anger towards her disobedience.

She fumbled, biting her lower lip as she tried to think of a decent excuse for leaving Erik's Room. Not giving her a moment to babble out inaudible comments Erik began to play again.

She did not move, still rooted to the spot and shocked that she had been noticed when she had been trying so hard to stay silent. Slowly though, the music took effect and she began to dance again.

Erik looked up from the keys, watching her silently; he continued to play; glancing back down he picked up tempo and speed. Haily twirled around faster and faster. She let out a faint giggle as she began to get faintly dizzy.

The song became faster and faster until Haily could no longer keep up time with her dance. She fell to the ground with a slight bump. Erik stopped playing and looked at her; her hair was slightly messy, a few locks had fallen down in front of her eyes. Her head was still swaying a bit as she tried to steady out her vision.

When the dizzying effect wore off she looked up at him. She grinned, wider until she began to laugh. She was laughing at her self, for being so ridiculous and spontaneous. She tried to stand up again, but fell back down to the ground; still not quite steady.

Then something happened that she did not expect. Erik let out a faint snicker. Haily cocked her head to one side; this only made him laugh a little harder. He seemed to eventually catch himself; he coughed and remained silent afterwards.

Haily let her giggling die on her lips as she finally was able to steady herself on two legs again. "A-a-a-again?" she asked.

He nodded and began to play. Haily twirled about again as the music started; suddenly she stopped as if she had remembered something. She walked over to the piano bench and tugged on Erik's sleeve.

He paused and looked down at the wide eyed girl, breathless child. "What is it?" he asked.

"D-d-dance with m-m-me?" she offered with a light laugh.

For a moment he just started at her blinking as if she had been speaking in a foreign language. Haily giggled at him and offered him her hand. "It's f-f-fun…" she said, coaxing him to join her.

"Fun?" he questioned.

"I'll sh-sh-show y-you." She said urging him down off of the bench.

He hesitated for a moment; then took her hand in his lightly and hoped down from the bench. "R-r-right," Haily said, "St-st-stand there…and all y-y-you h-have to d-d-do is sp-spin me ar-ar-around…"

"That seems a bit idiotic if you ask me." Erik grunted stubbornly.

"But I d-d-didn't a-a-ask you." Haily answered, not understanding the uses of sarcasm.

She took his hand in hers again and held it up just a little above her head. She spun around to face him again. "S-s-see?" she giggled, pushing back a few strands of her messy hair behind her ears.

What she received was just a questioning, nearly bored look. She sighed and began her twirl-dance again. She was humming the same tune Erik had been playing on the piano only moments before.

Soon Erik was keeping rhythm for her by tapping his heel against the floor. Slowly, the pace sped up again. Haily spun faster and faster around until she lost her footing and fell back down to the ground, taking Erik with her.

Haily lay sprawled out in Erik's lap; she blinked and looked up at him, noticing that his mask was a bit crooked on his face. She covered her mouth as she laughed out loud.

He blinked staring down at her with a look of confusion and bewilderment. Haily quickly pulled herself up right and stood up. Grinning she took a mock bow, but ended up falling face first on the floor again.

She lifted her head up meekly grinning up at him. She gasped; he was actually smiling as well. He stood up and held out his hand for her this time. "Let me help you." He offered.

She took his hand and he hoisted her up onto her feet. She giggled and stepped closer to him. "You m-m-might w-w-want to f-f-fix th-th-this…" she muttered adjusting Erik's mask so it was situated fully onto his face.

"What are you doing down here!" a cold voice from the stairwell interrupted the two.

Erik's mother was standing on the bottom step her face a mask of icy fury as she marched towards the children.

Haily yelped and hid behind Erik. He stood up straighter, as if hoping to block the little girl from view. "I thought I told you she was not to stay in this house?" Erik's mother accused.

"I said she was staying." Erik answered her with a calm voice, much to calm to be taken as sane. "I made her a promise."

"Promise or no promise, Erik, that girl needs to leave…today." She insisted.

Something about the way his mother said 'that girl' made Erik's blood boil with rage. His eyes seemed to glow as he spoke. "Her name is Haily!"

"Regardless," Erik's mother continued, "she needs to leave; I'll take her with me today, right now to see her Mother." She reached out to grab the hidden child's arm.

Erik attacked her like a wolf protecting one of his pups; "You will not touch her! You will not touch her!" he roared.

His mother managed to get past him and grasp Haily's arm in a tight grip. "No!" Erik shouted, pushing his Mother away violently. "No, no! You will not touch her! You will not! She is my friend! She does not want to leave! She's my friend! SHE'S MY FRIEND!"

His mother had released her hold on Haily and fell back under the sudden onslaught of words and fists. Haily stared wide eyed at Erik, who moments before had been laughing and smiling. She covered her eyes. "Erik s-s-s-top…" she whispered.

He did not hear her. "Erik s-s-s-stop it!" she tried again. "Erik stop it y-y-you're s-s-scaring me!

Panting and breathing like some wild animal Erik turned fiercely to Haily. His attitude softened slowly as he saw her cover her eyes. Very gently he lifted her hands away from her face. She was staring at him with absolute fear and trust. "She's my friend." He said again quietly.

His mother stared in silent wonder at the effect that this little girl had on her son. "Little girl….Haily; do you want to stay?"

She stared up in horror at Erik's mother. _No one cares what you want!_ Rang in her head as clear as church bells on a Sunday. She found that she could not move her head to clarify a yes or a no. She glanced up at Erik then to his Mother, nervously she toyed with her hands, searching for something to say. "y-yes…" she finally whispered.

Erik's mother sighed in exasperation. "This goes against all of my better judgment. You may stay for now, until I find a more suitable home for you."

"This will be her home." Erik contradicted his mother yet again. Without waiting for a response Erik grabbed Haily's arm and took her upstairs to his room.

"Erik…Erik your h-h-hurting me." Haily gasped as she was pulled upstairs and into his room.

He released her and slammed the door with a fury she had never seen before. "Why did you go downstairs?" he demanded. "Why did you leave this room? I told you never to leave this room! Why did you?" he paced the floor like a cadged animal.

"I…I didn't kn-kn-know where you w-w-were…I w-w-w-wanted to f-find you." Haily said frightfully.

"I was going to come back! If only you had waited like I would have wanted you too…why did you come downstairs?" he demanded again.

"I…I…." she paused. "How c-c-come you didn't t-t-tell me to go back up-up-upstairs when you f-f-first saw me?" she retorted suddenly.

"I did." He stated, crossing his arms.

"You did n-n-not." Haily shook her head.

"Yes I did, it was the first thing I said to you." Erik insisted.

"No it wasn't! You d-d-didn't s-s-say anything about it!" Haily said shocked at her accuser.

He gave her a glare which immediately shut her up without another argument. She ran over to her blankets in the corner of the room and pulled them up and over herself with an irritated sigh.

Erik took of his mask and in his agitation flung it across the small room. Haily tightened her hold on the blankets as a reaction.

He turned towards the huddled figure in the corner and walked towards her quietly. She glared up at him, scrunching her scarred face up making her look even more gruesome than she already was. "Want t-t-to yell at m-m-me some m-m-more?" she accused.

"No…no I'm not going to yell at you." Erik sighed.

That seemed to be the answer she was looking for. She extended a blanketed arm. "Want t-to c-c-come in?" she offered.

Slowly and hesitantly he sat down next to her and Haily draped the other half of her blanket over him. She hugged him faintly. He immediately inched away from her, "What are you doing!"

"I'm g-g-giving you a h-h-hug." Haily stated in a matter of fact tone. "My D-D-Daddy used to say th-th-that the more h-h-hugs you got the b-better you f-f-feel."

Erik made no reply to that last statement; he sat with his back to the little girl. "Haily?"

"Hm?"

"Will you miss your old home?" he asked.

"N-no…I don't th-th-think so." She answered truthfully. "I didn't l-l-l-like it there." She toyed with some of the loose fibers on the blanket.

"Then I'll make sure you never have to go back there." He stated with such conviction that Haily took him at his word. He turned back around to face her; eyes glowing underneath the mask.

"You p-p-p-promise?"

"I promise."


	5. Helpless

A note to silent readers...please review! How else am I going to know if you like this story, if you'd like me to fix, or alter a few things, or if you have some helpful critique! There is no way I can change anything or keep anything if I don't know what you are enjoying. So feedback is very helpful. Not flames, feedback, flames don't help they are just annoying and they don't make anyone feel good. All right, other than that; here is the next chapter, however inaccurate I think it is...aheh.

* * *

V

Helpless

"I c-c-can't see anything." Haily complained.

"That's because your eyes are closed." Erik stated in a matter of fact.

"If they are cl-cl-closed its b-b-because you blind…blind…blind folded me." She shot back.

"If I didn't blindfold you it would spoil the trick, it was necessary." Erik sighed.

Haily smiled in spite of herself. A few years had passed between them; Haily was now five years old. Her toddler cropped hair was now shoulder length; and she had grown a bit; both in stature and mentally.

"When are you g-g-going to get this thing off of m-m-me?" she sighed impatiently.

"Now." He stated and he quickly undid the strip of cloth around her eyes.

Haily blinked as millions of many colored lights danced in her vision. "That's am-am-amazing…" She said in slight awe, the colors remained in her vision for a few more minutes before eventually turning into a dull glow along the walls.

"Do you want to know how it works?" Erik asked. "It was very easy to construct. All I had to do was…"

"Don't t-t-tell me!" Haily said covering her ears. "It will ruin th-th-the m-m-magic part."

"You don't want to know how it works?" he asked.

"N-no." she said simply as she reached out to touch one of the blue lights on the walls.

"But…"

"N-n-no, Erik." Haily sighed.

Erik was about to put the object of 'magic' in question away when a loud banging was heard on the door below. The two exchanged glances which read something like. 'Who could that be so late at night?'

Haily trundled over to the door, about to go downstairs to investigate; when she was stopped by Erik. "Don't…" he hissed. "Stay here…"

He released her and he instead walked out of the room and down the steps to the doorway. Erik's mother arrived on the scene first and opened the door hesitantly.

"Madame Dalwnay! What, forgive my impudence, are you doing out so late in the night?" his mother exclaimed.

"I do not mean to intrude," Madame Dalwnay curtsied politely. "But I merely wished to ask a few questions."

"You may, would you like to come in; it is awfully cold out tonight." Erik's mother offered.

"No, no; no thank you. I don't intend to stay very long." Madame Dalwnay said faintly her gaze was focused on Erik.

"Good, you are not welcome here." Erik growled; his eyes narrowing to slits behind the kid mask.

"Erik!" his mother's tone went from pleasant to harsh rapidly. "Hold your tongue or get up to your room."

Erik stared them both down with silent hatred. Madame Dalwnay swallowed hard, surprised at herself that she was frightened of the boy, even though the people around the town claimed that he was a monster, he was still just a child and what possible harm could a small child do to her? "It is quite all right, about the manner of my visit…" she tried to get back to her original questions.

"Yes?" Erik's mother's attention went back to the woman in the doorway.

"I know you have heard the rumors about my daughter, Haily; she went missing…" she paused her as if fighting back the urge to cry. "A few years back, I was wondering…if…if you have seen or heard of any sign of her!" her tone held a pleading not in it.

Erik's Mother's face went very white and she clutched the handle of the door tightly. Madame Dalwnay continued: "I know that it is very possible that she is gone for…for good, but I don't wish to give up…call it a Mother's foolishness…." She grinned lopsidedly.

"We haven't seen or heard of your daughter." Erik said through gritted teeth. His fists clenched and unclenched.

Dalwnay nodded her head as if expected that to be the answer. "I understand, but I have heard of a few more rumors…" her voice grew silent and a bit venomous. "Someone…reliable has told me that they thought they saw a little girl in the window last night."

"Now, Madame Dalwnay, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this misunderstanding." Erik's Mother protested suddenly.

"What you saw…"Erik took over, "was probably nothing more or less then an ordinary object which figured the shape of a girl in the light. We have never seen your daughter, now leave."

"I wish to take a look around." Dalwnay demanded in a thin voice. "Just to ease my poor nerves and know for certain…you understand surely; I promise…not to be a bother. I just need to…want to know so b-b-badly..." tears appeared in her eyes.

"You may not, you will leave now. Mama, she needs to leave now." Erik said sharply.

"No Erik…"his mother sighed, "let her look."

Erik gave his mother a look of pure hate and horror with a final growl he tore off to his room.

Haily was nearly propelled backwards with the force in which Erik thundered into the room. "Wh-wh-what is it?" she asked.

"Hush." He said violently. "We are going to leave." He said already running around furiously packing whatever he could lay hands on.

"L-l-l-leave? Wh-Why?" she asked bewildered.

"Don't ask questions." He said angrily. "We are leaving and that's all you need to know!"

The sound of footsteps caught both of the children's attention. "Who w-w-was at the d-d-door Erik?" she asked timidly.

"No, you don't need to know! Come on, hurry." He grabbed her arm to shove her towards the window.

"Erik, s-s-stop it! Wh-wh-what is i-i-i-it?" Haily yanked her arm from his grasp in confusion.

"Haily, trust me." Erik pleaded with her.

Haily paused, Erik had never asked anything from her before, nor had he used such a childish tone when he did ask simple things. She swayed from the door back to Erik her head swam with what must be so wrong as to make Erik afraid.

The door swung open with a creak and Madame Dalwnay stepped inside. Haily gazed up at the cold eyes of her mother and opened her mouth to scream…but no sound emitted from her throat.

"My daughter!" Madame Dalwnay shrieked and fell to her knees grasping the child's shoulders tightly. "Oh, Thank God, thank God!" barely audible she pressed her mouth to Haily's ear and hissed. "You've caused me a lot of trouble and worry you useless brat."

"Get away from her!" Erik said pulled Haily out of her mother's arms.

"You!" Dalwnay turned on both Erik and his mother, "you tricksters. You liars! You hid her from me, you kept her secret here!"

She turned her savage face onto Erik, her hands clenched as if dying to wrap themselves around his neck and choke the life out of him. Haily, noticed the deadly change in her parent and stood up as tall she could, in front of the boy. "N-n-no, you will n-n-not hurt h-h-h-him! You w-w-will n-not!"

She glared at her daughter and turned towards Erik's Mother. "Why did you keep her here? She is of no value to you surely? Why would you hide my own daughter from me!"

"Sh-sh-she did…did…didn't." Haily responded. "I c-c-came my-my-myself. I r-r-ran aw-away!"

Dalwnay did not seem to care; her manner was past reasoning with. An almost insane light was glittering in her eyes. She grabbed her daughter's arm roughly. "Come, Haily; I'm taking you home; where you will stay next time."

"No!" she hissed. "I d-d-don't w-w-want to go."

"No one cares what you want!" her mother shouted.

Haily whimpered upon hearing that dreaded statement shouted loud enough both Heaven and Hell must have heard it. "But I w-w-wanted t-t-to st-st-stay with…"

"No one cares, understand, you foolish, accursed child! No one cares what you want or wanted." Dalwnay emphasized these words with a rough shake.

She dragged her daughter to the door, but Erik was faster. He blocked the door, glaring viciously at Haily's Mother. "She stays. Haily can stay; but you need to leave, _now_."

"Erik there is nothing you can do." His mother sighed, her heart felt heavy for her son, Haily had been his one and only friend, and she was an eager, sweet young child. Gently she tried to pull her son away from the door.

"No! P-p-please, M-mother l-l-let m-m-me st-st-stay!" Haily pleaded in vain. "Erik! Erik, h-h-help me!" she reached out her hand as if hoping he might pull her back in.

"Let go of me." He hissed at his mother. He struggled wildly in her grip, his eyes burning like twin pools of hellfire. He took Haily's hand firmly, feeling her desperation.

Their connection slowly broke apart, until both of them fumbled in thin air for each other's hands. Haily screamed and struggled all the way down the stairs.

Once at the doorway Haily became more desperate than ever before. She kicked, screamed, bit, clawed; anything to make her mother loosening her grip. With a final grunt her mother shoved her out the door.

Erik broke free of his mother's grip and tore off down the hall. Ignoring the long stairwell he jumped off of the small balcony above the main hall downstairs. He landed with cat like reflexes. Regaining his balance he made a mad dash for the doorway. The door slammed shut in his face just as he reached it. The sound of footsteps and then a horses hooves pounding further way echoed in his ears for a while.

For a heartbeat everything was silent. Erik's Mother remained at the top of the stairs. Her hand clutched at the hem of her clothing as she watched her son.

Erik's heavy breathing soon gave way to loud shouts of frustration, and agony. He kicked and beat his fists at the door. He tore off his mask and flung it at the door hot tears threatening to flow from those sunken eyes. He pounded back up the steps giving his mother a look which nearly caused her to faint from their intensity.

"It's your fault! It's your fault she's gone!" he shouted, his voice racked with sobs.

He turned away from his mother and headed up to his room. The door slammed shut and she turned her head away from the terrible muffled cries of her son.

* * *

"You trouble making, face-less demon!" Madame Dalwnay yelled at Haily from across her seat in the carriage, which was taking them home.

Haily just stared out the window, her hands folded in her lap. "I h-h-hope he's all right."

"Do you know how much trouble it was for me to find you?" Dalwnay continued.

"I'll m-m-miss him." Haily sighed.

"Two years! Two years, you babbling idiot, that's how long it was."

"I d-d-didn't g-g-get to s-s-say goodbye…"she whispered.

Her mother stopped, staring down her insolent child with cold, unfeeling eyes. "What did you say?"

"I d-d-didn't g-get to s-s-s-say g-g-g-goodbye…"Haily repeated. A single tear tracked down the side of her mauled face.

* * *

Helpless, perhaps that was the best word to describe how he felt. Erik paced his room like a wild animal waiting to break free if he was given a lead. His windows were barred, and his mother was probably waiting by the door for him to try something like an escape. There was nothing he could do.

With a roar of frustration he punched the wall closest to him. Furiously, he hit it again and again until his knuckles bled and skin began to shred off of them. He slumped to the floor in exhaustion.

As the veils of red mist fell from his gaze he stood back up; breathing harshly. He would never feel this way again. He would never feel helpless again. No one would take something so precious from him ever again. No one would question him; no one would defy him.

His ragged sobs gave way to a half cry half chuckle. He would put them through hell before he let them be free of him for good. He wasn't going to kill them, he was going to destroy them.


	6. Better Off

This chapter is uploaded against my better judgement. I believe there are many errors in my sequence of events, but once I get the book, (as the holidays are coming on fast. Hurray!) I'll be able to go through and do a check. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

VI

Better off

Haily had not been allowed out of her room for four weeks. Her door was locked, and her mother constantly went upstairs just to check that Haily hadn't broken through it. Her Mother didn't leave Haily with a candle in her room, so she only had light during the daytime.

At night when flickers of moonlight drifted into her room Haily would stand on tip toe to look out her window. Every night she would try to hoist herself up a bit higher so she could reach the latch in the corner that would open the window. Every night she tried, but to no avail.

She eventually gave up her foolish efforts of escape and resigned her self as a prisoner in her own house. Her mother, on the other hand, took the sudden change with great pleasure. No longer did she have to put up with the endless arguments, the shouting, and the crying. Madame Dalwnay just relaxed and watched her daughter's spirit and energy drift away.

Haily let out a little sigh as she sat on her chair in the corner gazing out the front windows. It was getting to be rather late and Madame Dalwnay was just about to send her daughter up to bed when loud, raucous laughter was heard coming down the street.

Haily lifted her head up slightly, wondering who, or why anyone would be out so late. Her mother sighed in annoyance, "it's the blasted boys again; when I get a hold of them, I'll flay them alive, so I will."

Haily got down off of her chair and headed towards the door. Listening to the boys' conversation. Not that she needed to press her ear against the door they were talking loud enough to wake the entire nearby blocks.

"You really think he won't be following us?"

"Sure, his probably dead or dying, anyways…"

"You mean you really got him with your knife?"

"I didn't mean to…I meant to hit him, but I guess my knife got there first, huh!"

This brought more laughter from the group.

A sick feeling began to grow in the pit of Haily's stomach. "Wh-wh-what are th-they t-t-talking about, Mother?" she whispered.

"Nothing of any importance, ungh, such brutish children." Her Mother dismissed the matter with a wave of her hand.

"I w-w-want to know…" With trembling hands Haily opened the door and dashed out into the garden.

"Haily! Haily get back here you insolent girl!" Her mother hung out of the doorway, watching her daughter run up to the fence.

"W-w-wait! St-stop!" Haily cried as the boys started to walk on past her house.

The turned to see who called to them, noticing the little girl waving a hand to them they exchanged looks of curiosity and headed back to her.

"What is it that you want, girl?" one asked.

"I…I h-h-heard you talking…and…and I w-w-wanted to know what it w-w-was all about…" her sentence trailed off miserably as she realized what a fool she was probably making of herself.

The boys laughed and told Haily with eager confidence and arrogance. "You've heard about the monster that lives in the house at the edge of the town right?"

She shook her head.

"No!" the all said in unison at her reaction. "Oh, how could you not!"

"Anyway…" one of the boys interrupted, "We was going over to see it, right?"

Haily nodded for him to continue.

"His dog was outside, you see, and we decided to have some fun with the ol' thing."

"Yeah, and ended up breaking its neck!" one of the other boys howled.

Haily's face went deathly white, although it went unseen in the dark. "What…what d-d-did the d-d-dog look l-l-like?"

"Girl, can't you talk right? What's the matter, nervous?" a boy laughed.

"It was a little spaniel…I think that's what it looked like." One answered despite the jibe thrown at Haily.

Haily's grip went slack on the fence as realization dawned her. Sasha, she thought, they killed Sasha.

The boys continued to laugh and hiss jokes about their time; Haily didn't even hear the boy finish their story, but she had heard enough. Their laughter filled her ears, their evil, smirking, smiling faces clouded her eyes. Something hot burned its way through her body, something she had never experienced before; hate unadulterated hate and anger.

"So, that's it; is that all you wanted to here?" one asked, noticing that Haily seemed to no longer be paying attention.

"Yes…" she hissed. "Th-th-that was all I w-w-wanted to hear." Unable to control herself she swung out with her small right fist and caught the boy square in the jaw, knocking him back a pace.

"Whoa! What is the matter with you?" The other boys jumped back at the sudden attack.

"You're h-h-horrible!" she hissed, climbing over the fence. "You're t-t-terrible!" she swung wildly at them, not caring if her fists made contact or not.

Two of the boys tried to hold her arms behind her back to stop the onslaught of tiny fists aiming for their faces. One managed to catcher off guard. "Calm down, will you…good god!" he let go of her as if she was a hot coal.

"What is it?" another asked.

The former speaker grabbed Haily by her hair and roughly pulled her head up. "Look."

"Isn't that sweet, first the monster then the monsteress." A boy howled.

"I am n-n-n-not a m-m-m-monster!" Haily yelled, flailing her arms about trying to break free.

One of the boys smacked her across her face to silence her. "You'll speak when we ask you too, you little demon, and not before."

"I'm n-not a d-d-demon!" she hissed, her face stun with the sudden blow.

"The girl's probably never even seen a mirror!"

"Not that she'd want to anyway!" They boys laughed.

"The little freak." One of the boys tilted her head closer just so he could get a better look at her scars.

"I'm n-n-not a f-f-freak!" she shrieked, slapping the boy's hand away.

She slashed blindly at her torturers eyes streaming with long suppressed child like tears.

"Go on, get back inside, you little demon." A boy shoved her back into the fence, making a zig zag cut along her clothing.

She stumbled up right and dashed back into the house amid the howling and jeering laughs of the cruel people outside.

Once in the safety of her own home Haily rushed past her mother, eyes blinded with tears; she went up stairs and down a string of halls before she reached her mother's mirror in her bedroom.

"I'm not a f-f-freak." She hissed.

She shut her eyes tight as she stood on tip toe to face the mirror she seemed to count to three in her head then opened them to look at her self.

Her screams would have shattered the Angel's mirrors in Heaven.

* * *

If there was pity in Madame Dalwnay's heart. She most certainly felt it now. Haily walked back down the stairs, with one hand shielding her scarred face. Her breath came in short choked, gasps as she tried to calm down.

Her mother wasn't sure what to say; not even an insult sprang to mind. She just watched as her daughter went quietly back over to her chair in the corner and resumed staring out the window. A shadowed relic of what she was.

Hours ticked by and soon Madame Dalwnay retired to her bed for the rest of the late night. She had tried to coax her daughter up to her room, but Haily pretended as if she had heard nothing. She just stared ahead and moved her head away when ever her mother came closer to her.

Once the last of the light had been turned out Haily sat alone in the darkened house, finally she felt it was all right to let her hand drop from her face. No one was awake to see her now. She fidgeted in her chair a bit, unaccustomed to being so alone in such an empty, large space.

Wind howled outside, reminding her off the laughter the boys had. She glared at it, her hands clenching into little fists wanted to strike out at her invisible assailant. Another loud gust and Haily had, had enough. She sprang from her chair and marched over to the door.

She did not care how much noise she made as the door opened with a loud creak. She ran outside, letting the chilly wind slap her face. "Don't l-laugh at m-m-me…" she hissed at the wind.

She tried snatching some in her hands so she could strangle the sound out of it. "Don't l-l-laugh at m-me!"

The wind blew off into the forest beyond her house. Spurred on by hate and humiliation she chased after it. Hoping to catch it, hoping to kill that horrible sound. She crashed into the nighttime forest. Chest heaving as she swatted like some mad beast at the wind.

She growled and moaned in frustration as her rival kept slipping out of her tiny fingers. She spun around to fight the element some more when her fists came in contact with something solid.

The something, or someone; let out a surprised gasp which turned into a grunt of pain as Haily hit him.

She looked up, her eyes still blazing with anger, but they soon softened at the sight of her 'victim' "Erik?"

He paused for a moment, then with a raggedy sounding voice which was unlike him he answered, "Haily…."

Her fists unclenched themselves and her arms made their way around him as she hugged her friend tightly. "I m-m-missed you…"

He did not return her gesture, in fact her forced her girl off of him. He staggered to control his balance. He seemed to try to be staying in focus and not pass out. "What are you doing…out…here?"

She did not feel like reciting her actual foolish reason. "N-n-nothing." She hissed. "What are y-y-you d-d-doing out h-h-here?"

"That's not…important…" he said, continue onward down the forest path.

"Where are y-y-you g-g-going?" Haily asked, keeping in stride with his erratic steps.

"Nowhere…anywhere…Haily, just go." He muttered.

"Wh-what?" she asked a bit thunderstruck.

"Get out of here…go home…"

"No, n-n-no…I d-d-don't need to. I'll…I'll c-c-c-come with y-y-you!" she said immediately perking up at the idea.

"No!" he shouted, turning back around to face her, "you can not come with me."

"Wh-why?" she asked timidly.

"Because…"his eyes searched her quickly with a pitying look in them, "I don't want you to."

"What…?" she stumbled.

"I don't want…you to…" he continued moving onward again, struggling to keep his own pace.

"I don't un-un-under…"she was cut off.

"Our lives would have been better if we had never met each other." His words cut like millions of knives.

She stopped in her tracks, watching him continue on without a backward glance. "Erik…"

He turned around briefly, the sight was heartbreaking, whether or not he felt it. She seemed so lost now, more so than ever, and her eyes held a disbelieving look in them as if she expected him to suddenly smile and say that this was all some sort of joke and of course she could come with him.

"Go…home, Haily." He said and dashed off before she could dare follow.

She stared after him, slack jawed and confused. "F-f-fine…" she said suddenly, her eyes were dull, yet filled with a pain and anger that no child should have to endure. "F-f-fine! L-l-leave!" she shouted.

Her voice picked up volume as she screamed at his fleeting figure. "I N-N-NEVER L-LIKED YOU ANY…ANY…ANYWAY!"

Her voice cracked as she cried like the small child she truly was, "I never…l-l-liked you an-an-anyway…" her voice came in gasps from the waves of tears.

She sat down on the dirt road, tired, emotionally spent, lost, and alone. She hugged her arms around herself as night's chill took effect.

Erik ran through the forest as fast as his body would allow him too, he had heard every word. Every last, hateful word. Good, he thought, she needs to hate me, just like every one else…all coherent thoughts left him as he felt the drugs taking effect. He would need to find shelter and quickly and that was the most important thing on his mind. Haily, he could try to erase from his memory, tomorrow.


	7. Demon Dancer

I am so happy about this chapter...it's almost a bit scary. Thank you to all who actually review my story. Your comments are most appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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VII

Demon Dancer

Haily did not return home that night, nor any other night afterwards. She wandered off, away from her birthplace; to escape her painful memories. Slowly she got used to the feel of being on her own and alone. She wandered aimlessly for months, watching in confusion as people would subconsciously toss her coins, thinking her a poor beggar's girl. Soon she became accustomed to the odd staring, and took advantage of the pity it produced. As other people's pity, often lead to money, and money meant that she would be able to eat that day.

Finally, after weeks of lost wandering she made her way into the heart of Paris. It was there she took up residence in the many back allies of the lower sides of the city. During the day she would stand out with the other beggar's asking for money with those same sweet innocent eyes she now played up to get larger sums. And as always, the poor girl struck pity into the hearts of the populace, and the pity always paid her as well as could be expected.

Soon, as she got older, she found that she could no longer keep up her act as a poor pitiable waif. She had become a teenager, and no one had pity for the poor young adolescents of the slums.

Fortunately, she had begun to discover a talent which inadvertently saved her life. Every night she would listen to the men playing their old worn instruments. The songs were usually brawl like and tavern music, but Haily liked listening to it for the sake of listening.

One night in summer, however, most of the ally gangs grouped about for shelter. Any alcohol available was passed out, so the louder the drunks got the more people were attracted to the group and the noise. Even Haily roused up her curiosity to see what was happening. Two men were singing rowdy songs as only a drunk could, accompanied by a violin which had seen better days.

When most of the shouting and violent singing had halted one of the men struck up a sad little tune on his meager instrument. Haily couldn't help but begin to sway at the tune. Slowly her feet kicked into a sort of slow shuffle dance. Then her waist and shoulders and arms leaned into the music and she began to dance. Naturally, she wasn't fantastic, but there was no doubt of that simple spark of talent in her body. People began to take notice of her dancing and watched her intently.

When the violinist had stopped many people hissed for him to continue playing, just to watch the young girl dance again. He took note and quickly began the same song again. Most people had seen the young girl many times in the allies, but they had taken no notice of her; or rather they just didn't want to stop and look at her for very long, as her face did not help her popularity at all.

Eventually Haily opened her eyes as the music faded again and straightened up, amazed at all the eyes focused on her. Color flushed into her paper white cheeks and she kicked up dust bashfully on the ground. One of the younger girls in the group had the common courtesy to applaud lightly. Some followed in her example.

Haily backed away, completely taken aback by their reaction. Two men in the back watched her with calculating stares. Yes, she could be very useful. People liked listening to music, but they would drop even more coins to watch a young girl dance to it. Especially if that young girl had certain qualities about her that people could not help but stare at.

* * *

That following morning she was approached by those same strange men. They offered her, what they called, an "opportunity" They said that they saw her dancing last night and they thought it was a sure way to earn a little extra money.

Haily listened, trying to find a trick or a loophole in all that they two men told her. She trusted no one on those streets, but the prospect of more money was to enticing for her shrink away from and after a few minutes of silent debate with herself she agreed.

She was to dance for them, or rather she was to dance and the two men would share on whatever profit Haily was able to bring in. She never saw any of what she earned. They fed her and kept her as healthy as they could, but never gave her so much as a coin.

Weeks had gone by and Haily was going to take matters into her own hands. It was early evening, a time when most people did not stop to heed the beggars or players of the streets. Haily took her moment; she stalked up to the two men; who were lounging further down the ally way, drinking as usual.

"Hey, hey; here comes our lil'l star." One snickered.

She did not pay any attention to their drunken remarks. "I w-w-want my m-m-money." Her words, although slow, were quipped and straight forward.

"Money is it?" the other hissed, "ungrateful for what we've been given you?"

"Wh-wh-what h-h-have _y-y-you_ b-been giving m-me?" she snorted.

A smart smack across her face silenced her temporarily. "Shut up! You hear me, girl? I won't have no jumped up slut asking for money from me, got that?"

She spat grime from her mouth and glared daggers into him, "I'm n-n-n-no slut and I w-w-want…"

"Oh, girl, no one cares what you want!"

She stopped; it had been years since someone had shouted that comment to her face. Not since she was a small child had she heard that. Idly she rubbed her stinging face as she floundered for position.

"You do as we say, got it?" the first man remarked, "When we say dance you dance; when we say jump you jump, got it?"

"I m-m-might be a b-bit sl-sl-slow." She glowered, the heat from her former verbal attacks fading as the effect of that simple sentence took control.

"You good for nothing whore!" the second man shoved her to the dirt covered ground.

She coughed and tried to quickly pick herself up again, when she was forced back to the ground by the man's boot. "Did I say you could get up, girl?"

She growled and flailed under the increasing weight of the man pressing down on her. Her ribs were being crushed against the man's foot and the cold concrete. She felt a roaring darkness consume her mind and somewhere she was dimly aware that more people were watching the spectacle.

Suddenly she was hoisted up by one of the men. She took in a breath of air, which, she made a subconscious note that, she would never take such a gift for granted again.

Her hair was yanked sharply and a muffled yelp escaped her lacerated lips. "You're worth nothing to us dead or crippled." The man snorted.

"But a lesson needs to be learned here, slut." The other man laughed as he grabbed her arms.

"Now dance." They spun her around violently.

Haily struggled to break loose, but with the men's combined strength she was fighting a losing battle.

The onlookers laughed heartily along with the cruel men. Some actually threw coins at their feet.

"That's right, dance demon!" The men spun Haily faster and faster until she could no longer feel her arms or legs. She wretched and they released her so she could vomit onto the ground. The crowd began to split up, still chuckling over the display.

Haily shook and shivered on the floor; ashamed of herself. "Now, girl, do we make ourselves absolutely clear?"

"Y-y-yes." She choked out. She did not turn to face them; she kept her eyes face down. "Y-yes, I w-w-will n-n-never d-d-d-disobey you ag-ag-again…"

"Good, girl, that's what we like t' hear." The man's chuckle was full of venom.

"Now I'd get some sleep for the night…we want you fresh and awake in the morning." The other finished.

She did not nod in compliance, but the two men figured that they had driven their point of obedience home enough. As soon as the men slipped out of sight she hoisted herself upright. Her chest ached and her arms felt as if they had been wrenched from their sockets.

Her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks were flushed, but she would not cry. She wasn't going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her tears. She spat onto the cold ground and tried to walk forward.

She didn't get very far at all. She was too exhausted to travel for any length. She slumped down against a wall; heedless of the night's chill. She leaned her head back against the cold stone and stared up at the rapidly darkening sky.

Already a waning moon was showing through the dim red-orange glow of the fading sun. She watched as the clouds burned, flared and then were suddenly extinguished. A sigh escaped Haily's lips and she hugged her arms about herself as a gust of wind blew about her.

The wind seemed to entice her to play. It twirled about her curly hair and tugged at her raggedy sleeves. It pulled and pulled trying to get her up, trying to get her to dance again, but she was much to tired for such foolishness. Long ago she might have leapt up and danced as long as the wind stayed with her, but that period in her life seemed like an entire lifetime ago.

The stars started to appear in the sky; with flashing brilliance they showed their sympathetic faces down at the girl. The moon bathed her face in a dim fluorescent glow. She turned away as if she could feel the gentle light touching her cheeks.

"Y-y-y-you w-w-want to s-s-s-s-see me t-too?" she growled.

A harsh sounding chuckled gurgled its way up her throat. "Y-y-y-you and ev-ev-ev-everybody else." She sighed.

Idly she held out her hand for the wind to rush past, the constant night chill seemed to fade into nothing more than a numbing breeze around her. Haily liked the feeling of the raw, cold, bitter wind racing around her skin, clothing, and hair.

She let her arm fall to the ground as she tried to bottle up an oncoming yawn. With a slow and tired blink she returned her gaze to the night sky. It wasn't long before the stars seemed to dance in her vision as the hazy grasp of sleep began to overcome her senses.

It wasn't a peaceful sleep that threatened to close her eyes that night. It was a restless, bruised, nightmarish sleep. She didn't entirely mind, or rather, her body did not seem to care. Any rest at all was welcome enough to her weary limbs.

"Wake up, my pretty." Haily was cuffed roughly awake by one of her so called owners.

She groaned, she must have slept only a few hours and her body made it perfectly clear that she desired more sleep.

"You heard me I said get up!" She was hauled off her back.

She yawned and quickly tried to dash sleep from her eyes. "I'm a-a-a-awake…all r-r-right?"

"Here," the man tossed her a loaf of bread, "get that down your throat and be quick about…"

Haily caught the bread deftly with one hand and tore into hungrily. "Wh-wh-what's w-w-w-with the r-r-r-rush." She rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"I thought I told you no smart talking…or do you need another dose of last night's lesson to remind you?" he gave her a light smack across the cheek.

"Hey, hey!" the other man steadied his partner's hand before he could strike her again. "They won't take her damaged, remember?"

He shrugged from the man's grip. "Yeah, yeah, I remember."

Haily paused in mid bite, staring awkwardly at the men, "Wh-wh-who's th-they?"

The man who had tossed her the bread gave her a snaggle toothed grin, "How old do you think you are, Haily?"

Immediately she became suspicious, they never used her name unless they wanted something especially interesting out of her. She shrugged and did a quick count in her head; it had been so long since she thought about it. "S-s-s-sixteen, I th-think…wh-why?"

The two men exchanged wary glances. "Good, we was just wondering…"

She raised her eyebrow with suspicion, but said no more of the matter. She was still starving from last night and the unfinished bread in her head seemed to have caught her attentions again. She finished her meager meal, while still trying to work out the minor details of what the men were discussing.

"Ain't you got anything nicer than those?" One of the men tugged on the sleeve of her raggedy dress.

"Y-y-you k-kidding?" she laughed and raised an eyebrow, "I d-d-don't h-have any m-m-m-money for n-n-nice cl-clothing."

"It doesn't matter…" the other said; he nodded and smiled at Haily making her feel even more suspicious than she already was, if it was possible. "We got someone who's taken an interest in you."

"Oh…wh-who?" she asked crossing her arms.

"Never you mind who, just be ready to go." The man waved his hand in a dismissal.

"I'm as r-r-ready as I'll e-e-ever b-be." She smoothed out the wrinkles which appeared all over her so called dress.

"Right then, come on my brat, let's hurry along." The man grabbed her right arm and the other took her left.

"H-h-hey!" Haily cried out indigently, "let m-m-me g-g-go!"

"Tame, tame; dear you must be patient." The man at her right hushed her sharply.

"Yes we don't want you to attract too much attention now." The left man finished.

They carried Haily out of the sheltering walls of the allies and into the blinding morning sun. She turned her face away and shut her eyes tight as brilliant colored lights danced in her vision for a brief moment. Slowly, she reopened her eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light.

The sound of carriages and peoples hurried footsteps caused her to swerve her head from left to right. The crammed tenements and dirty cobble stones held a network of lower middle class society.

For a moment she was so distracted with merely watching the lower city life that she had stopped paying attention to where the two men where guiding her.

Immediately she cam back to her senses. Ahead of them waited a black horse with two men standing along either side. They seemed out of place in the surrounding walls and roads of the city.

The dark men seemed uneasy and their horse seemed to be picking up on his masters feelings as well. The men holding Haily pushed her along; they appeared as anxious as the darker men to hurry up with whatever business they were to conduct on the busy streets.

Haily felt an animal-like instinct take over her; panic. She eyed these new people with fear and distrust. She began to struggle within the men's grasp.

"Will you stop that?" one shouted at her.

This only caused her to panic more, she tried to halt their progress by slamming her feet onto the rocky pavement and refusing to walk onward.

The men cuffed her about her ears and dragged her forward. She had to give up her struggling, as the rough and jagged cuts in the uneven roads cut into her bare skin.

The men half carried, half dragged her towards the dark men. They set her arms free, but held her shoulders steady.

"Well," one of the men holding Haily's right shoulder hissed, "you got the money we asked for?"

"Don't be so hasty." One of the dark men said.

His voice was heavily accented and carried a deadly tone. "I wish to see her dance first."

The men released Haily. "All right you heard him; dance."

"Th-th-th-there isn't an-any m-music." Haily said simply.

She received a quick slap to the face. "You cheeky brat, this man wants you to dance and you will dance!"

She glared daggers of hopelessness at her cruel taskmasters. The darker man who had first spoken began to clap softly.

Haily sharply glanced over; the man was giving her a simple beat. Her brows knitted together as she thoughtfully chose her movements for a dance.

Her eyes roamed over the faces of the cold, calculating men. She stumbled and faltered, but quickly pulled herself together. She shut her eyes and blocked out the hard stares.

For a moment she began to lose herself to the dance; she was quickly brought back down with a slight jerk. One of the dark men had grabbed her head, he turned it from side to side, examining her. "Hmm…what happened to your face?"

She pulled away from the man; rubbing her cheek. "An ac-ac-accident, wh-when I w-w-was a ch-ch-child."

The other man pointed a finger to the man standing next to Haily's left, "How long has she had that stutter?"

The man shrugged. "For as long as I've known her, sir."

"Wh-wh-what is th-th-this ab-about?" Haily finally asked. Her eyes were staring quizzically at the dark men.

She received a light, yet swift slap from the dark man for her outburst. "You should learn to hold your tongue in front of your betters."

Haily spat and glared back at them. "W-well wh-wh-when I see any I w-w-will."

The man by Haily's right jumped in front of her to stop any more sudden comments that might interfere with any of his plans.

"Err…what do you think we can get for her?"

The dark man shrugged; "She is not very beautiful is she?" he sneered, "but what she lacks in beauty she makes up for in talent."

Haily blanched visibly; they were going to sell her.

"Would this be sufficient?" One of the men held a hefty pouch that clanked with the sound of coins. He undid the drawstring which opened the bag; and held out a few silver coins which fell from it.

The two men nodded eagerly and the dark man poured the coins back in the bag where many more coins lay. He tossed the pouch to the men, who snatched it up in a second. "She's yours." They shoved Haily into the hands of the darker men.

"G-g-g-get off m-m-me!" she yelled while struggling viciously.

One of the men struck her over the head causing her to go limp and unconscious. "There, there…" he hefted Haily up and splayed her flat over the sadly of the horse. "We don't want to cause unnecessary attention now do we?"

"Pleasure doing business with you." The two men tucked their share of the money into their pockets and backed away.

"Likewise I am sure." The dark men lead the horse through the back streets with their new cargo; a little slave girl.


	8. On the Slave Chain

That was fast...sorry this one's a bit shorter than the other few. I decided to experiment a little with first person. I might go back to it a few times throughout this story, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I hope you like it!

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VIII

On the Slave Chain

_(Excerpts of Notes dictated by Haily; which were given to a reporter shortly before her death)_

I awoke sometime in the middle of the night, or sometime in the early morning hours. My head was in a fog and I couldn't make out any shape in front of me, or on either side of me. I could hear the steady pounding of horse's hooves, and each pound sounding like a dozen drums in my ears.

I don't think there was anyone around me at the time. It was very quiet, so quiet that I was altogether aware of my plight. The two men were on either side of the horse, I could hear them walking along side me.

I tried to sit up, but one of them pushed me roughly back down again. I coughed and chocked for breath. He was pushing me into the saddle; I couldn't breathe. I flailed my arms about for a minute when I realized that he was trying to knock me out again. Soon after everything went black.

When I awoke next it had to be mid morning. The sun glared angrily down at me and I could almost feel its fiery eyes boring into my skin. I lifted my head; timidly of course, I didn't want to be reprimanded a second time.

My whole body was one dull ache. My head throbbed with the beat of each step the horse took and my mouth was dry and parched. Slowly, seeing as the two men no longer had any interest if I kept my head down or not, I lifted myself into a sitting position.

I blinked rapidly to get my bearings. We were most defiantly not in Paris any more. The city seemed to have been suddenly erased and small industrial towns had been put up in its place. I swerved my head from left to right. I wanted to ask where exactly we were and where we were going, but my mouth was to dry and I'll managed to make was some type of gurgling noise.

The man to my left looked up at me and handed me a canteen filled with water. I found this rather odd, but knowing better than to question help I took a quick swig and handed it back to him. I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything he spoke to me.

"You want to know where it is we are taking you am I correct?" his accented, silky voice always gave me shudders.

I nodded dumbly.

"Soon, you will see." He said quietly and he left it at that for the rest of the day.

We didn't stop; we never stopped. Meals, however meager they were, were had on the go and the two men never rested. We traveled by night and by day. I could hardly sleep myself, as I was much too anxious to know where we were going.

Five days; that's how long it took us. Five days to get to the harbor. We arrived at 3:00 in the morning. Bleary eyed I weakly raised my head to see the dark outline of the waves spread before me.

In my sleep deprived mind it look more like a giant monster come to swallow me up. As we rode closer I noticed a ship waiting by the docks. More men were standing by; I let out a slight groan.

The two hissed for me to stay silent. As we neared the ship I was pulled from the horse and flung into the men's grasps. I screamed; their hands were all over me and once. I wished dearly that there had been a little lighter, for if they had seen my face they would never have thought to lay a finger on me.

Someone gagged me and half dragged me on board. It was a cargo ship, judging by the barrels and boxes piled along the midsection. There were others, some in chains. They looked so thin and helpless that I almost cried out to them.

The same fate was to befall me as well; I was to be a slave in some foreign country. A rough cut looking man hobbled over to me, a chain clanked in his hands and was ready to hook me to the rest of the slave line when he was halted. The two men whom I had traveled with whispered something to him in a language that I could not understand. He answered and pocketed the chains. Was I to be freed? Was this a mistake? My mind was a flurry of questions, some of which I knew to be false hopes.

I was taken below deck and set up in a small and cramped barrack…but there were no other slaves in sight. I took a torn blanket from the bunk and lay down. I could not think any longer. I did not wish to keep my mind occupied on my position. I wished for sleep and sleep along. As the ship started to pull out of the harbor my mind drifted into a twilight state of slumber. I was leaving France behind…and something in me told me that I would never set eyes on my home country again.

When I awoke, we were already three days out at sea. I slowly got up out of my bunk and went careening into the opposite wall. The floor seemed to be rolling out from under me. I stumbled my way up the steps and onto the main deck. Sailors were everywhere and all I could do was watch them all flutter about the deck like swarms of ants.

One sailor walked right past me, did a double take and let out a yell that would have halted lightening from making a direct hit. The crew stopped and looked around for where the sound came from. Their eyes fell on me and I could feel their disgust and fear.

I tried to move, or at least look away, but there was nothing I could do. I heard another shout off in the corner and I could see one of the men which had brought me here walking over to me. He was speaking in that same foreign language. He seemed to be trying to calm the crew down. After five minutes of his talk the crew seemed more relaxed about me. They spread out and went back to their daily chores.

"Wh-wh-why d-d-did you d-d-do th-that?" I asked.

"Because they did not recognize you." He said, "They believed you to be some demon that had crept on board this ship during the night. I had to explain that you were a human being."

My flesh crawled with rage and the indignity of having to have been explained that I was human. "Wh-wh-why have you n-n-not ch-ch-chained me with th-th-the oth-others?" by others I had meant the other slaves.

He chuckled, "You are to be a dancer, if you're muscles cramped and deteriorated during the journey then it will have all been for nothing."

"Wh-wh-wh-where is it I am to d-d-d-dance th-then?" I asked hesitantly.

"Many places." He said, "it depends on where your master shall go."

"M-m-master?" my eyes widened in fear of such a thought.

"Yes, you are going to be sold in Tehran at the slave market."

"T-T-Tehran?" the name sounded funny on my tongue, "wh-wh-where is th-th-that?"

"For a stuttering girl you certainly do like to exercise your poor ability of speaking." He sighed in exasperation.

My face flushed red and I was glad he was facing the opposite direction. "Persia." He had answered my question. With a flick of his fingers he walked off.

Persia? It was new to me, the word didn't even sound real. It had hardly answered where I was going now I only knew the country. I backed up against the railing of the ship. I turned to look at the churning and white sea. I clenched the wood of the ship; what if I killed myself?

Then there would be no slave market, no master whom I had already begun to imagine would be a cruel and merciless monster. I stared at the empty ocean and leaned further and further out. No…I could not carelessly throw my life away as if it were some piece of trash that would be giving all of my enemies exactly what they wanted.

Maybe there was a way that I could escape. Surely there were many back streets and ally ways in Persia as there were in Paris? I could not foresee the strange events that would happen during my stay in Persia.

It was exactly a month and a half before my eyes set sight on dry land again. When we finally docked I was anxious to make me way as far as possible from this slave ship as fast as I could. Luck was not with me those days; the moment the ship touched the dock I was chained up with the rest of the miserable slaves.

From that moment on I have come to hate chains of any sort. They bind your hands and bind your soul. The chains cut into my wrists and whenever anyone pulled on the lead the rusting crevices in the cuffs would burrow into my skin. We were lead out into the streets of the city I now know is called Tartus.

We did not linger long there. Soon we were making our way in a northerly direction. This was the hardest part of my journey. Were fed little, but we were allowed a sip of water once a day. We were no good to the traders dead. The slave chain changed my life; I learned that my opinion no longer mattered and that I was no longer in control of my surroundings. My usual sharp tongue and quick wit quickly diminished leaving in its place a shadow of a personality with dull and empty eyes.

I rarely spoke; my stutter had become the joke with the traders. They tried to get me to talk and when they spoke to me they tried to imitate me. I prayed that we would get to Tehran soon; anything would be better than these constant jokes and teasing.

My wish was granted; we arrived at the city of Tehran much sooner than expected. Exhausted and fed up I did not resist when my line was brought before the market. The brought us up onto a plain wooden platform one by one and auctioned us off. Auctioned…like we were nothing more than sacks of flour and grains of wheat.

I was the last in my line and the moment I was dragged out into the blinding eyes of the watching crowd a gasp rose up. I didn't turn away; I didn't shut my eyes I just kept staring ahead hoping that this would all be over soon.

The man who was doing the auctioning spoke words to the crowd that I could not comprehend. He looked at me and ordered me to do something…I did not understand him so I just kept staring back at him. After a while he must have realized that I did not speak Persian he tapped his feet on the ground and clapped in a sign language which I knew was a signal for me to dance.

I shuffled a little in my chains; I didn't care how well I danced, or how terrible I looked. My eyes strayed over the crowed, that's when I saw him.

A man dressed in entirely black robes with a mask covering his face. His eyes were staring at me with an intent so familiar it made my stomach roll. Energy raced through me like electricity. My shuffling turned into awkward spins and twirls. My dirty hair blew pas my face as I spun faster and faster. I did not know what I was doing anymore my body knew and I let it go.

When I stopped people were shouting out prices for the bidding. I stopped and stared wide eyed at the masked man. Then I heard him speak. I can not describe to you his voice; you would not believe me so it is pointless to do so. The crowd gawked at him. He must have just placed a very high amount…outrageously high.

The auctioneer stared at him for a minute before snapping himself out of his daze. Two men hauled me off the platform and presented me before the man. I felt so small opposite him. He was tall, no his aura was tall. I felt like a child before a giant. Another man was with him and he seemed just as surprised as I was.

We stared at one another for the longest time. The more I looked at him the more it was dawning on me.

I knew this man.

_(Passage ends here)_


	9. The Chains that Bond

Oye, this chapter was hard; damn Erik and his snarky, clever, dialoge. Heh, anyway I really hope you all enjoy this chapter!

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IX

The Chains that Bond

The masked man looked away from Haily's eyes and instead looked down at her wrists. Seeing that she was chained his head snapped up and he stared at the man who had brought her to him. He spoke something in Persian; his voice seemed tight and grating.

Haily trembled and looked about for a way of escape. In her fervent mind she was no longer paying any attention to the man or his guard. She heard, rather than felt the chains unlock. She glanced back down; she was free! She rubbed her bleeding wrists and stared up in gratitude at the masked man.

What was she thinking? The fool had let her go, she had no reason to stay and find out if this man was good or evil. With a frightened backward glance she took off down through the marketplace.

After running for a minute or so she looked back and realized no one was pursuing her. She halted in her tracks; maybe the man bought her only to free her? That was a ridiculous thought to be sure. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at the men back at the slave platform. One was missing…and it was the masked man.

She turned to run off again and nearly collided with someone. Her wrists were grabbed and jerked painfully hard. She cried out and looked up at her kidnapper, her fears had been concluded he had given chase to her after all, but how had he caught up to her so fast?

He spoke in that same Persian tongue, he almost sounded amused. She shook her head as if to say she did not understand. "P-p-please, Monsieur…I d-d-do n-n-not kn-kn-know wh-what it is you are s-s-s-saying."

A sharp hiss escaped from behind his mask and he dropped her to the ground immediately. "Tell me your name girl, before I make it a point to end your miserable existence."

Her eyes were wide; not from the fall, but from her hearing her home language again. She answered smartly. "M-m-my n-n-name is H-Haily."

Slowly she stood up, her eyes had a thoughtful curious gleam in them. "Monsieur, p-p-p-please, b-b-but I f-f-feel as if I k-k-know you."

"I'm afraid that would be impossible." He answered her immediately.

She nodded sadly and held out her wrists signifying that she would no longer run. He laughed at her, "I have no need for you, Haily."

She shot him an odd look, "Th-th-then why d-d-did you b-b-buy me?"

"I can not stand the sight of talent being chained and mocked." His eyes flashed brilliantly.

"M-m-m-monsieur, you are m-m-mistaken…I h-h-h-have no t-t-talent." She shook her head.

He waved his hand as if in a dismissal; "You are free to go."

"If I w-w-was f-f-free to go all th-th-this t-t-time, wh-wh-why did y-you ch-ch-chase me wh-wh-when I r-ran?" she raised an eyebrow.

He turned on her suddenly, but before a word could be spoken by either of them another man appeared on the scene. He seemed frustrated yet slightly amused by the situation. Both he and the masked man started talking. Haily could not understand a single word the two were saying. She could have walked off, but what good would she be serving herself if she did so? These were strange streets, and she probably would not last a day if she did not know the language. At least if she stayed with this strange man she would be guaranteed shelter.

"He wishes to know your name." The masked man's voice brought her back to the conversation at hand.

"Haily." She said quietly.

The man nodded politely; she liked this man right away. She could have laughed out loud if she had a half a mind to. Here was a man of obvious status showing a little courtesy to a common slave girl.

The masked man explained something to him and began to walk off. The other man looked back in confusion at Haily. "W-w-wait!" she called out.

The masked man turned. "C-c-can I….I m-m-mean, m-m-may I…c-c-come with y-y-you?" Haily asked quietly.

"My answer will be no, yet I can tell from your voice that no amount of argument will persuade you from the decision that you have already come to." He answered her with a sigh, but continued walking.

Hesitantly she followed from behind keeping a fair distance away from them. People shoved their way past her and on several occasions she looked about wildly in panic for the masked man.

"If you continue lagging behind I will leave you here." A voice sounded in her ear.

She jumped slightly and found herself staring eye to eye with the masked man. "I th-th-th-thought you d-d-did not c-care if I c-c-came wi-with you or n-not." She answered calmly.

"I do not, but as you have made up your mind to follow me it is now my responsibility to watch you." He commented quietly.

The walked on in silence. Haily was still wrestling with long gone memories. She did know this man, she wasn't going crazy.

Upon reaching his apartment she was immediately sent up to bathe. Clean clothing was sent for and while she finished changing she could hear the two men talking inside the other room.

She slipped her arm through the silk sleeve of her shirt and listened to their conversation. Not that she could understand much of anything the two were saying until she heard that name.

"Erik."

She jerked her head away from the thick veil shielding her from the eyes of the other men. That name, somewhere in the back of her faintest memories that name she recognized. Who though? Why did she make such a connection between that name and her past?

Thoughtfully she pulled the curtain back and walked hesitantly out of the room. Only the masked man was there, the other man must have left…stormed out is more the like. Haily had nothing to say and she felt that she would surely suffocate under the intense silence added to that the uneasy stare the masked man was giving her.

"Wh-wh-who are y-y-you?" she gulped quietly.

He chuckled and turned away from her, remarking sarcastically, "You are very welcome."

She took a bravery step forward, if she was afraid she dared not show it now. "Wh-wh-wh-who are y-you?" she asked again with more determination.

"Why do you need to know exactly who I am? I assure you I am not of any importance to you, Mademoiselle Dalwnay." He said in a confident manner which faded completely after his last remark.

Haily turned to him sharply, "H-h-h-how do you kn-kn-know my l-l-last n-name?"

He would not answer her. Haily in a need to know the questions that were now fervently plaguing her mind walked up to him and turned him around roughly by the shoulder. He seemed a bit stunned at this sudden action and rose up his arm as if to strike the girl down for her insolence.

She winced, but held her ground. "Y-y-your n-name is Erik, am I c-c-c-correct?"

"Yes." He agreed grudgingly.

"H-h-how did you kn-kn-know my last n-n-name, Erik?"

He walked away from her, as if he could not look at her long enough to give her a straight answer. "I am disappointed in you, Haily. You always were a clever enough girl and I would have thought you would have remembered me…of course I was shorter then." Judging from his voice he must have been smirking under that mask.

"Sh-sh-shorter?" she repeated quizzically.

"Yes." He turned his face half way, "no more than a child's height." He put a slight emphasis on the word child as if it was supposed to mean something important.

Like a tidal wave she was blown over by the sudden snapshot of a memory. A masked boy…of course! Oh she could have kicked herself for not recognizing him from the moment she laid eyes on him! That voice, that tone and that mask! It had to be him.

Joy transferred into hot blinding rage in the blink of an eye and the transition all played out on her face. She ran at him; hissing and clawing and trying to slap, and punch him.

He had not expected this, but he was always prepared he blocked her flailing arms with a sickening and all too graceful ease. She was shrieking at him, "You! Oh y-yes I r-r-remember y-y-you the l-l-l-little b-b-boy who l-l-left me in the st-st-streets! The b-b-boy who pr-pr-pretended to be my f-f-f-friend, but as s-s-soon as it w-w-was no l-l-longer c-c-convenient for you, you l-l-l-left me to f-f-fend for m-m-myself."

"Temper, oh vicious one, you might hurt someone swinging those arms about." He chided her as an older brother would a baby sister.

He pushed her down onto the couch, still holding tightly to her wrists to prevent her from causing any damage. "L-l-l-let me g-g-go! I h-h-hate you! I h-h-h-hate you!" she shouted.

His yellow eyes glared feverishly back at her. "Yes, Haily, hate me. You should! Join the growing population of human beings who act before they think and judge before they see. So hate me, hate me with a passion! Send me to hell and back with your curses, but what good will it do you now?" he hissed with such venom that Haily was even shocked into a stunned paralysis.

"So you wish to hear the full story now?" his temper was near to a breaking point and he did not wish to play any games with this girl.

She merely stared back at him; not knowing what to say. This man was not the boy she knew. She could see it in his eyes. He was dangerous, possibly prone to murder. Her green eyes stared at him calculating him, as if wondering how he worked.

Erik found himself unable to look away from this cold eyed stare. What did she expect to find within him? Nothing, he wagered, but then why did he feel so exposed to her now? He shook the feeling away and commenced with telling her his story, his grip on her wrists never slackened.

When he had completed his brief story he released Haily. She lowered her hands slowly and hung her head in absolute shame. "I d-d-didn't kn-know…I…I w-w-w-would n-n-never have th-th-thought."

"That is exactly your problem." He stood up and moved towards his desk.

She rose to her feet, "I a-a-a-apologize…"

He chuckled, "Why?"

She seemed a bit blow away by this response. "F-f-for…" she paused, searching for the correct word, "j-j-j-judging you…"

He waved a hand for silence; "You seem to have no further need of my services, therefore I see no reason why you should stay here any longer, considering you do not seem to approve of my company."

"I…I'm a bit c-c-c-confused." Haily stuttered.

"Confused? What is there to be confused about? I'm telling you that you can go so why don't you go?" Erik turned to face her.

"I d-d-do n-not kn-know this l-l-land, Erik, nor d-d-do I kn-kn-know the lan-lan-language."

"You will learn it in time." Was Erik's reply.

She began to knot up the hem of her garment, "Are. are you s-s-sure that you h-h-h-have n-n-no n-n-need of a sl-sl-slave?"

"I have no need of a slave or anyone for that matter." He glared at her.

"Wh-wh-wh-what about a f-f-friend?" she asked quietly.

"_Especially_ a friend." He hissed venomously at her.

She nodded her head as a sign that she would no longer peruse the matter further. Gracefully and silently she made her way to the door across the hall. She paused before she could turn the handle. "We-we-were you e-e-e-ever my f-f-friend?" she asked hesitantly.

Erik stood rigid, his eyes looking Haily over as if expecting to find something that was no longer in plain sight. "No." was his firm answer. With that he turned his back on her.

She let out a slight sigh, "Some h-h-how." She looked back at him, her eyes boring holes through him, "I h-h-h-had al-al-al-always figured as m-m-much."

She opened the door and proceeded out of the apartment.

Once he was sure the she had fully left the room Erik turned back around again, only to stare at an empty hallway with a shut door. He sighed, he never made mistakes and so in thinking that he did not feel any remorse about the way he had treated Haily just then.

Still, how odd that she should find her way here, in Persia of all places to meet again. Erik passed it off as a strange coincidence, but he had never really taken anything as pure coincidence. Fate? That was also ridiculous, but it was always a possibility.

Maybe he truly did make a mistake in letting her leave. Should he go after her? No, of course not. Erik shook his head and tried to clear himself of such idiotic thoughts. What if some harm was to befall her though? She was after all a stranger in this country and in being so she was easy prey.

Erik seemed to dash over to the door like a shadow upon a wall when the lamplight flickers across it. Before he opened the door a new possibility popped into his head.

Didn't she allude to the fact that she had raised herself on the streets for most of her life? Then she would be able to take care of herself here as well as she did back in their home country. Erik relaxed a bit; but here was different anyone could take her, anyone. She would never be seen again and who would care about the welfare of a former slave girl?

She could be hurt or worse raped; yes Haily did come off as one who was used to taking care of herself, but she could not defend herself in a fight. She never could. Erik roughly pushed open the door. "Haily!" he called. "Haily!"

There was no one there the streets showed no sign of the young woman. Erik paused in the door way. What was he doing? Running after a girl who had showed no gratitude towards him for his help whatsoever. Yes, he may have looked after her as a young child, but she was not a child anymore. Haily was no longer his responsibility and frankly she never was.

Erik walked by inside his apartment and shut the door behind him silently. She was gone again, this time he wagered for good and it was all for the best.

Outside the apartment building a woman poked her head from around the corner a flicker of amusement and endearment hung in her eyes. She chuckled to herself and leaned against the column, she pushed a few locks of hair away from her scarred face. "S-s-some th-th-things n-n-never ch-ch-change, Erik."

With a hint of smugness on her face she wandered off into the busy streets of Tehran there was no doubt in the form of her stride that she would be back.


	10. The Proper Adjustments

I've been up for two hours past eleven o'clock at night to finish this chapter. So please pardon the spelling mistakes! I hope the next chapter won't take me so long to complete as this one did! Please, enjoy and of course REVIEW!

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X

The Proper Adjustments

"_You p-p-p-promise not to l-l-let go?" a desperate voice asked._

"_I won't!" another hissed. _

_Two children were grasping for each other's hand as they were being pulled by two older adults towards opposite sides of the room. _

_The girl cried as she fought to maintain a hold on the little boy's hand. "Pl-pl-please d-d-don't…"_

_The boy was trying desperately to pull the girl towards him, but he seemed to be failing. _

_Suddenly, their connection broke and they both struggled for each other in thin air, both seemed to disappear down the opposite ends of the room. "H-h-help me!" the girl cried._

_The boy gave no answer and he struggled in the adults grasp. _

"_H-h-h-help me!" she cried out again, being dragged further and further away from the boy._

_The room seemed to stretch and expand the further back she was dragged. "No! P-p-please…_

"H-h-help me…" Haily awoke with a sudden start.

Her hand has outstretched in front of her eyes as if she was still waiting to be pulled back. She sighed and rubbed her eyes which were dry with sleep. She had had the same dream for many nights in her lifetime and every time He was the first to let go.

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It had been two weeks since she Haily had first arrived in Tehran. Now she was beginning to learn the complicated Persian language. Living on the streets there was much harder than it ever was for her in Paris. Every minute was a fight just to save her own head. Dodging the guards, and hiding from the other forms of low life living in the back ways of the city.

Stealing was out of the question and she only resorted to it if she was desperate. She had no desire of getting her hands chopped off, just because she was hungry.

Haily stood up slowly, rubbing life into her stiff limbs. She stretched slightly and wandered out from the street; which was darkened by the two low rising buildings on either side of it.

As she walked, she brushed the dirt from her clothing; her hair had gone back to its previously matted state; much to Haily's neglect. The growling of her stomach brought her thoughts back to the question of breakfast. She had not eaten properly in a few days; maybe now was the time to take one of those risks.

She shrugged as if she was having a mental conversation with herself. She stepped out into the marketplace. As inconspicuous as she tried to be, everyone noticed her. She cursed herself and her face silently. Creeping up to one of the venders she cautiously tried to snatch away some of the bread he was selling.

With her hand in mid raise something pulled her wrist hard. She turned around in horror. That look was quickly replaced by a look of recognition it was that man again! She had seen him standing with Erik at the slave market those two weeks back.

"W-w-w-wait!" she cried out in her panic, "Haily." She said quietly pointing to herself with her free hand.

The man did not release her, although he did let his grip slacken off some what. "What are you doing here?" his voice seemed hard and commanding.

She eyed him carefully. "N-n-n-nothing." It was hard enough to speak properly in her own language; she had a much harder time controlling her stutter with this new language she was teaching herself.

"Has anyone told you, Haily, that you do not have a talent for lying?" The man sneered slightly.

"I do n-n-not p-p-posses t-t-talents for m-m-many th-th-things…wh-why sh-should this be d-d-d-d-different?" Haily retorted, doing her level best to keep her voice cool and calm.

He drew her near roughly; "Are you aware that I could have you arrested, and that I should cut your hand off as the price for stealing?" he hissed urgently at her.

"I am aw-aw-aware." She said, her head held high. "It is your d-d-duty to up-up-uphold the l-l-law, I'll p-p-pay m-m-my pr-price." She said and she gave him her free hand.

The man stared at her in shock. No one had surrendered willingly to the harsh justice system. Now here was this young, and obviously insane young girl willing to accept her actions. He made no move to unsheathe the knife he wore in his belt around his waist.

"W-w-well?" Haily asked patiently; she smirked and shook her head sadly. "You aren't g-g-going too ar-are you? T-t-tell me it is n-n-not b-b-because you as-as-assume that I d-d-do n-n-not know wh-wh-what it is that I am t-t-t-talking about." She rolled her eyes. "Wh-wh-why does ev-ev-everyone th-th-think that j-just b-b-because I st-st-stutter I am st-st-st-stupid as w-w-well."

The man paused and stared at her with a most curious expression on his face. Haily raised an eyebrow impatiently. "Wh-wh-wh-what is it?"

"Nothing." He shrugged, "you just sounded…like..." he trailed off.

Haily snickered to herself and nodded, "L-l-like Erik?"

He paused, "How did you know his name?"

"Th-th-there are a l-l-lot of th-th-things that I kn-kn-know about your f-f-friend." Haily sighed.

"He's not my friend." He muttered.

"N-n-not your f-f-friend?" she spluttered amused, "Th-th-then wh-wh-what is your…" she was cut off.

"I was ordered to watch over him…you might call me his personal guard." He elaborated on his position.

"W-w-well then, wh-wh-what is your n-n-name P-p-personal G-g-guard." She laughed in good humor, "I th-th-think that it is only f-f-fair that I kn-kn-know the n-n-name of the m-m-man who is ab-ab-about to t-t-take my h-h-hand."

He stared at her with slight wonderment, but his eyes betrayed that he was highly amused by Haily's antics. "My name is Nadir, and I am not going to cut off your hand, Haily."

"Ah, I th-th-thought as m-m-much." Haily sighed, retracting her hand.

"I couldn't have even if I wanted to." Nadir said finally releasing her from his grip.

"C-c-come ag-again?" Haily stuttered, crossing her arms impatient to get on with the rest of her day.

"You are Erik's property and therefore I can not do you any injury without his consent." Nadir stated.

"I'm Erik's _wh-wh-what!_" Haily hissed, her eyes flamed at the mention of the world property, "b-b-but he r-r-r-released me, I am n-n-no l-l-longer his c-c-concern."

Nadir smirked, "That is your word against his."

"You d-d-don't t-t-trust me, I s-s-see." She nodded understandingly, "W-w-well you, N-n-nadir are a h-h-horrible l-l-liar." Her lacerated lips parted in a smirk of a smile. "You've t-t-trusted me en-en-enough to r-r-release me, and you t-t-trusted th-th-that I w-w-was not g-g-going to r-r-run or h-h-harm you." She raised an eyebrow as if daring him to counter her verbal retort.

She was rewarded by a soft chuckle from the man. "Haily, exactly how well do you know Erik? And please don't say that you are related!" his face had gone an unearthly shade of white.

Haily burst into a gale of laughter, "G-g-g-god God n-n-no!" she managed to say through her peals of laughter.

Nadir sighed in relief audibly. "Thank Allah that is a comfort to know. As I can only handle one."

Once Haily's laughter had died down she returned to her form stone faced state. "Am I f-f-free to g-g-go, th-th-then, s-s-seeing as you h-h-have no o-o-other n-n-need of m-me?"

"Not so fast." Nadir stopped her, "You will need to come along with me."

"B-b-but I j-j-just ex-ex-explained…" Haily began in a calm, but nearly outraged tone of voice.

"For my sake Haily, you must understand that I need proof of your statements." Nadir said, although he almost sounded as if he was pleading with her.

Haily sighed, "F-f-fine, l-l-let's g-g-get th-th-this wh-wh-whole af-affair over w-w-with."

As they walked through the streaming crowd of people Haily could not resist a side comment. "You m-m-men are a-a-a-all the s-s-same h-here." She sniggered, "you c-c-couldn't t-t-trust a w-w-woman even if your o-o-own l-life d-d-d-depended on it."

Nadir opened his mouth to argue that not all men truly felt that way, but he quickly thought the better of it. This, Haily, as she called herself, was must assuredly different. In all his time he had never seen a woman so ready to defend herself, and at the same time so ready to comply with a sentencing that was so utterly violent. He watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye. She was a tricky thing; secretly he wondered how much exactly she knew about Erik. The way she talked about him you would have thought that they had known each other for years. This was, he shuddered, disturbing in its own right.

Quickly and quietly he took her firmly by the arm and led her to the apartments near the palace. Haily's attention seemed fix on the palace, however, she let out a slight whistle of amazement. There was something about that building and the many complexes around it that gave Haily a sense of excitement. It was as if something unexplainable was about to happen. She shrugged and shook the feeling off; there was always an air of foreboding around the palace. Secretly she didn't doubt that conspiracies and plots ran fast and thick around these walls. Why did she get the feeling that eventually she would end up in one of the biggest of them?

"Ah, Daroga, I had wondered where you had wandered off to." A familiar voice spoke from behind Haily and Nadir.

Nadir merely turned, but Haily jumped and spun about like a cat with her fur in a ruffle. Erik, who had spoken previously, stood rigid at the sight of Haily. "What," he hissed, "is she doing here?"

"I found her attempting to steal some bread in the market some time ago." Nadir stated officially. "She claims that she is no longer one of your concerns. Is this true Erik?"

"True? True? Of course…" Erik paused in mid statement, something about this situation was defiantly unusual. What were the odds of him ever meeting with her again in the first place let alone a second time in the span of a mere few weeks. He kept his gaze cold and unblinking, if he let Haily go a second time, what trouble would she find herself in. She had already been lucky that it had only been Nadir that had caught her and not another one of the palace guards, who would have cut off her hand without question or thought. "Of course it isn't." he finally blurted out.

Haily blanched. "_Wh-what lie is th-th-th-this!"_ her voice was thick with disbelief.

"I was going to ask you the exact same thing, Haily." Nadir said through gritted teeth.

"H-h-h-he is the l-l-l-liar n-not m-me!" Haily pointed an accusing finger in Erik's direction.

"Such gratitude." Erik chuckled, "It's nearly touching in a way; is this the thanks I am to receive for giving you a home?"

Haily was dumbfounded into silence. She was to flustered to utter a syllable, let alone a sentence that would even make sense.

Nadir handed Erik Haily's arm. Nadir sighed slowly. "Still, I did not take her for a liar initially."

Erik hesitated for a moment before lightly taking Haily's offered arm. He grabbed her tightly, causing her to wince. He quickly forced into a half walk half run pace into the apartment. Haily glared pure poison at him, "Wh-wh-what is it th-th-that you th-think you are d-d-doing?" she demanded to know.

"Saving your life, Haily, if you must know." Erik responded without even looking back at her.

"S-s-saving m-m-me? I..d-d-don't…." she was interrupted.

"You wouldn't understand of course! You are to busy pretending to be quite able to take care of yourself. You don't even realize the danger you are so carelessly plunging into." Erik hissed ushering her inside.

Nadir followed close behind, trying to catch snapshots of their hushed yet angry conversation.

"D-d-danger! I am f-f-fully aw-aware of my s-s-s-surroundings, and yes I c-c-can t-t-take c-care of m-m-myself!" Haily had to grit her teeth to stop from flinging a full forced punch straight at his face.

"Yes I see that from the state of your clothing and the dirt that practically covers your skin and face. Not to mention the fact that you have resorted to stealing just to keep yourself alive! Are you even remotely aware of how lucky you were to have Nadir catch you today instead of another guard! You wouldn't be standing here so arrogant then! You would be lucky if you could be able to stand anywhere at all!" Erik retorted in full force.

"A-a-a-arrogant? The o-o-only ar-ar-aroggant one I s-s-see h-h-here is you, Erik!" Haily glared at him.

Erik chuckled violently and released Haily with a swift shake of her arm. "How little you know about me, Haily, how little you know!"

"D-d-don't g-g-get all sm-sm-smart as-assed on me! You d-d-dragged me b-b-back in h-h-here r-r-r-remember?" Haily fumed at him, her fists clenched together and she was trembling from head to foot with rage.

Erik glanced her over an amused gleam in his yellow eyes. "I do not remember ever seeing you this furious before." He stated, changing the subject as if the previous one had never existed.

"_Furious?_ I'm n-n-not f-f-furious! I'm s-s-stark r-r-raving mad!" Haily finally shouted at him. "I have half a m-m-mind to r-r-rip th-th-that m-mask f-f-from your f-f-face, and t-t-tear you in-into s-s-so m-m-many l-l-little p-p-pieces…"

"You would die before you could even lift your hand to complete your scheme." Erik said in deadly calm.

Haily fell into silence, a cold chill ran down her spine. He could not have truly meant that. Yet, she was almost certain that he would if she continued to provoke him. Suddenly she got the image that she was tip toeing around a sleeping tiger. One wrong step and he would awaken and maul her in an instant. Still she continued, the volume in her voice dropped dramatically. "You w-w-wouldn't h-h-hurt me."

He stared back at her, skepticism in his eyes, "Are you so sure of that, Haily?"

"This wh-wh-whole p-p-plan of yours, Erik, w-w-was to 's-s-save my l-life' n-n-not h-have you en-en-end it." Haily said. Although she silently wished she could just have kept her mouth shut, but she continued. "And y-y-yes I d-d-do kn-know ev-ev-everything ab-about you! Ju-ju-just as you kn-know ev-ev-ev-everything about m-me!" she chuckled. "Oh, d-d-don't g-g-give me th-th-that s-s-sarcastic l-l-look I've b-b-been w-w-watching you. You s-s-still l-l-l-look at m-m-me the s-s-same w-w-way you used t-to l-l-looked at me el-el-eleven y-years ago! I w-w-was w-w-watching wh-wh-when you r-r-ran out th-th-the door to c-c-call me b-b-back tw-tw-two w-w-weeks ago!"

Erik stared at her, level minded and silent. He let nothing betray his emotions towards Haily's last statement. Instead, sucking in a deep breath he addressed her slowly and carefully. "I suggest that you clean yourself up again. I will send for fresh clothing for you as soon as possible."

Haily wasn't the only one who was standing in the main hall of the apartment in a bewildered and silent stare. Nadir could hardly believe what he was hearing. This woman was absolutely insane, even more so than Erik ever could be. Erik was capable of murder and he would have killed for far less than what Haily had just given him, yet he did not even seem to mind that much. It was as if he watched an argument between two friends simply having a minor disagreement, albeit a rather harsh and temperamental one, but the threats that passed between them were so childish that it was hard to take it all seriously.

The way Erik had ended it seemed like the exact resolution the argument had needed. Haily seemed to have nothing more to say on the matter at least, it was either that or her throat was to sore for her to continue her rampage.

Haily was frozen in place. She looked like some statue of a wild eyed demon. Her hair was a rag tag mess and her face was contorted with a look of shock. How could he offer her such things after all of that? He was so infuriating! Yet he meant what he had said, was it possibly that all he wanted was her assured safety? That couldn't be true, not after he had left her all those years back. If he had wanted her safe so much he would not have left her on the streets. The hard eyed gaze in her eyes slowly faded with out her notice of it.

"Well?" Erik asked, "do you intend to stand their all day? Or do you wish to go wash?"

Haily snapped out of her previous thoughts, she glared at him. "You are th-th-the m-most _in-in-in-insufferable_ m-man I have ev-ev-ever m-met!" with that she stalked over to the bathroom.

Erik merely chuckled and headed over towards his work room. "I hate to agree with her, but I have no counter argument."

Nadir stared after them, rubbing his temples. He could feel a splitting headache coming on. There was no way that he could keep an eye on both of these…these devils! He thought to himself. He sighed, he was going out. He didn't know where and he didn't care, but if he stayed in that room another minute his head was going to burst. As he turned to leave he could hear Haily shout something from the other side of the apartment. Erik shot a venomous statement back.

"Allah, help me…" Nadir muttered a prayer underneath his breath as he left the apartment. Leaving the two to settle this argument for themselves.


	11. A Common Past

A note...there is a weird cut off as you will note half way through this chapter. During a conversation that I made up I blended it into a conversation that Kay has in her book. You'll know it when you see it, and so I just cut it because...I didn't think we all needed that conversation repeated in here. REMEMBER REVIEWING IS GOOD FOR YOUR SOUL!

* * *

XI

A Common Past

"If you ex-ex-expect me t-t-to s-s-say th-th-thank you; th-then you w-w-will b-b-be w-w-waiting a v-v-very l-l-l-long time." Haily emerged from the bathroom, her arms folded over her chest.

"Was it always in your nature to go looking for arguments?" Erik answered without walking out of his room.

"No, b-b-but it is in m-m-my n-n-nature to w-w-want an-an-answers." Haily growled.

"You didn't ask a question in the first place, so exactly what answer should I give you?" Erik finally appeared over by the marble column. His yellow eyes stared at Haily curiously.

She jumped, that was impossible, she thought, wasn't he just in his room two seconds ago? She shook her head silently. "Wh-wh-why ar-ar-are you k-k-keeping me h-h-here?"

Haily could have sworn that Erik was smiling underneath that mask. "Wh-wh-what was it th-th-that you s-s-said b-b-before? That you w-w-were 's-s-saving my l-l-life?'" she quoted in an aggravated tone of voice.

She sat down on the sofa, not really wanting an answer. Erik walked over to her, "Oh, so you were listening. I couldn't tell, what with all of your incessant yelling." He remarked in a somewhat sarcastic tone of voice.

"I th-th-thought you d-d-didn't w-w-want me h-h-here!" she looked up at him.

"I don't, but I didn't expect you to find yourself in so much trouble." He responded.

"T-t-trouble!...I…" she was quickly cut off.

"It is a very different way of life here, Haily, I don't think you can adjust to it easily." He finished.

Haily was slack jawed. She had always been able to take care of herself, how dare he say otherwise! Why, she wouldn't be alive if she hadn't been a proficient thief! Like a very faint alarm bell realization dawned on her. She looked away from Erik, the taste of guilt and shame rose to the roof of her mouth. "H-h-how w-w-would you kn-know!" she spat back, but there was no power behind her words anymore.

"Considering the fact that I am practically the only one who _knows_ you; then yes, I would know." Erik answered.

"P-p-people ch-change." Haily said. "W-w-we are n-n-not ch-ch-children an-an-anymore and I am n-n-not the s-s-same."

She didn't really want to spark another argument, but she had no idea how else to talk to him anymore. She felt as if she had hardly ever met this man.

"No, we are not." Erik shook his head.

Haily sprang up from the sofa, "So h-h-how c-c-can you t-t-trust me? F-f-for all you kn-kn-know I c-c-could j-just be w-w-waiting for the r-r-right m-m-moment to s-s-steal ev-ev-everything you o-o-own and l-l-l-leave you." She pointed at him in an accusing manner.

"I can't trust you, but I think I shall take my chances with the consequences either way." Erik answered without bothering to look directly at her.

Haily was seething internally. Erik did even raise his voice to her; not once during this entire conversation. If she had been talking to anyone else she would have been beaten to the ground, or worse. She didn't know what to do; it was as if she was fumbling for every word and action she took towards him.

She lowered her hand with a sigh. "Th-th-that's am-am-am-amazing…" she laughed quietly as she headed towards the door.

"What is?" he asked impatiently without turning to see her leave.

Haily stood with her head on the door, "Ev-ev-even af-af-after all of th-this t-t-t-time you st-st-still c-c-consider me n-n-no m-m-more th-th-than a ch-child." With that she opened the door and promptly exited.

Erik let five minutes pass before he began to doubt that Haily would be coming back at all. Was she that ignorant that she would throw her only chance of survival away? He hastily walked over to the door and nearly tore it open. At the same time he nearly collided with Haily.

The entire time Haily had not moved, but a few paces from the walkway. Her eyes were unblinking as she spoke. "M-m-m-my p-p-point ex-ex-exactly…"

Erik was completely speechless. Humiliation was not something he was not accustomed to admitting. Haily walked right past him and back into the apartment with a triumphant smirk plastered onto her face. Causing the scars around her lips to curl upward into what looked like a more sinister than foolish expression.

"Don't you ever…" Erik began, turning back around to face her.

"Wh-wh-what?" she snorted, "W-w-worry you ag-again?"

"That is _not_ what I was going to say!" he spat.

"Of c-c-course it w-w-wasn't" she rolled her eyes in distaste.

"You want me to stop treating you like a child?" he suddenly yelled, his voice had taken on an air of command. "Then it would be in your best interest if you were to stop acting like one!"

Haily became very quiet, very much like a child being punished by an older and more responsible figure.

Erik continued, "Tricking me, yelling and running in and out of doors just like a pathetic, whining, child who hasn't gotten her way! Get out of my sight Haily, you sicken me." He waved his hand in dismissal.

Haily blinked and relented in silence. She walked off into the spare room down the other end of the corridor. She slumped down on one of the floor cushions, it had been a long time since someone had given her a good talking to, and it had been an equally long time since she had let someone talk to her in such a manner.

Erik sighed in exasperation; why did he put up with such an incredible nuisance? Was everyone out to make his life an absolute misery? Haily most of all; why couldn't everyone just leave him alone? He needed time to think and sort all of this out. He had a guess that tomorrow was not going to be any easier.

* * *

By the time the court had moved to winter in Mazenderan Erik and Haily had argued and fought over every and any subject possible and when they were not screaming and yelling at each other from across the room they were hissing and whispering snide and sarcastic comments about the other under their breath, which of course they both heard; that would then start another argument between them and all would end the exact same way that they had started off.

The most fought over subject was the matter of indoors and outdoors. Haily hated being forced to stay inside she would much rather be allowed to go out of doors while Erik was busy with court matters. Erik would always refuse insisting that she would be much safer inside and that he was right and she was wrong and therefore she should let the matter drop entirely.

Haily's presence did not go unnoticed in the eyes of the other members of the Persian court. The khanum, the head of the harem, became especially interested in meeting the young girl. So it happened that Haily was to have an audience with the powerful woman.

From the moment that Haily set eyes on the older, but beautiful woman she loathed her. She had to try very hard to keep all of her views to herself as she would not only endanger her life if she insulted the khanum, but possibly Erik's life as well.

"Well she certainly isn't very pretty…" was the first thing the khanum told her.

"En-en-enough p-p-people h-h-have t-t-told me th-that th-th-that I n-now t-t-take it as a c-c-compliment." Haily answered through tight lips.

The khanum smiled at her thinly through the gauze like veil. "Well said; Tell me, what is your name?"

"It is H-h-Haily." She answered curtly.

"Tell me, Haily am I making you nervous?" the khanum purred sweetly.

"N-n-no." Haily answered with a stubborn pride she explained herself, "I h-h-have al-al-always h-h-had th-this st-st-stutter."

"Nonsense that is no excuse. You are merely too frightened of the world and everybody in it that you can not speak your mind clearly." The khanum answered in a demanded tone of voice. "The next time we meet Haily I wish to hear that you have done something about that."

Haily stood rigid, she was seething on the inside, but she was wise enough to let her eyes hold a blank emotion. Regardless of her opinion of the khanum, her words struck a cord with her. Perhaps she was much too afraid of everyone. "I w-w-will d-d-do m-my b-b-best."

"You are dismissed, then Haily." The khanum waved her way with a flutter of her delicate hand.

Haily bowed awkwardly and walked out of the room. She could hear the other harem girls giggling behind her back as they made comments on her lack of grace upon other things. Haily stopped and stared at them all with a cold eye. The girls immediately ceased their chatter and became very quiet and let Haily go by in peace.

"She is a weak and foolish girl." The khanum remarked.

"I would like to see what would happen if you say that to her." Another voice answered. Erik had been standing a few paces behind and away from Haily during the brief conversation; now he strode forward.

"Oh?" the khanum laughed in amusement, "and what would she dare try and do if I did?"

"She curbed her tongue today for my sake not yours." He added.

"Erik, I have been meaning to ask you what possessed you to buy that girl." The khanum pointed out lazily. "You could have any number of girls for slaves or for other such…necessary work."

Erik struggled to keep his voice monotone. "Haily is not my slave and I have no use of one in either case."

"Not your slave?" the khanum faked surprise, "then what is she?"

Erik paused briefly thinking up an appropriate answer. "We share a common past."

She smiled briefly, "You knew her?"

"In a way." Erik answered in a snap.

"Tell me Erik, I wish to know more." She demanded, stretching lazily.

"It was to long ago and the details are too hazy to recollect exactly." Erik said, lying with a straight face.

"Oh, I despise it when you choose to be difficult with me Erik, it is never anything simple with you." She whined.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It was not a matter of difficulty; I believe it was a matter of a memory."

The khanum sighed, her amused state slowly fading to boredom. "I'm bored Erik, I am bored, bored, _bored_…."

* * *

"D-d-d-despicable woman." Haily growled furiously as she crushed one of the cushions in her room into a sizeable ball only to have it spring back to its original size again.

She heard a sudden thud and a roar of nearly insane laughter coming from outside in the main hallway. With a look of confusion she pushed aside the thick veil which separated her room from the rest of the apartment.

Erik was on the floor and he had seemingly thrown his mask across the floor. He was laughing at absolutely nothing. Erik's laughter sent chills racing down her spine.

"Erik?" she asked hesitantly.

His body jerked upright suddenly and he stared at her with an odd and crazy gleam in his eyes. "Haily? Haily, Haily, little Haily?" he repeated her name.

She began to instinctively back away. She looked up briefly and saw rather than heard Nadir shouting at her. "Haily, get back in your room now!"

Erik lunged at her and pinned her to the floor before she could make the dash back to her room, back to safety. Erik smiled wickedly at her. "Haily can't run away now, Haily must not run away."

"Erik st-st-stop th-this." Haily hissed.

He winced, "Don't yell at me, I don't like it." He had her arms pinned back in a vice like grip that she could not shake off.

Nadir immediately rushed over to pull Erik off of Haily, but he was flung backwards with a tremendous show of force. Haily, while trying mentally to keep her cool, was rapidly beginning to fear for her life in this position.

An idea came to her, "Erik, st-st-stop it your sc-sc-scaring me." This plea had seemed to work a long time ago when they were children. Now it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"Scare you, Haily? Yes, I'm afraid I do scare a lot of people." He laughed at this statement as if it was the cleverest and funniest thing he had heard in a long time.

"But I don't scare Haily!" he focused his gaze back at her. "Haily was never scared of me!"

"I am n-n-now." Haily kept her voice calm, trying to get him to slackening his grip on her arms. "I'm v-v-very s-s-scared, Erik p-p-please g-g-get off." Her voice was tight in aggravation now.

"Well you stop _yelling_ at me!" he released her arms and put his hands over his ears.

She did not stop to argue the fact that she had not yelled, she sprang up to her feet and backed further away. She was able to glance over at the hookah that was situated over in the corner of the room. Who in their right mind would give Erik such a lethal drug such as hashish? Her gaze quickly flickered back to Erik.

"Haily, I want you to get out of here," Nadir had grabbed her arm lightly as to not startle her. "I'll find you in the morning, but there is no telling what he will do to you if you stay."

"I'm n-n-not l-l-leaving." Haily said firmly. "He's l-l-l-likely to k-k-kill you in his pr-pr-present st-st-state."

"What makes you think that he won't kill you as well?" Nadir hissed warningly at her.

Erik had grown impatient, "but Haily wants to stay…" he knocked Nadir out of the way and brought Haily towards him.

"Erik st-st-stop…"she said in a warning tone. Aside to Nadir she whispered hurriedly, "H-h-he's n-n-never h-h-hurt me b-b-before…"

Her breath caught in her throat as Erik began to twirl a lock of her hair. She dared not make a sound, nor did she try and move away. Once he tired of that his fingers traced the pale outline of her collar bone. His one hand still gripped her shoulder, tighter, and tighter. Haily stared at him in horror; Erik had no intention of causing her physical harm…what he planned in his twisted mind was far worse.

His hand was moving lower along her chest, and Haily in her sudden panic threw back her head and let out an unearthly screech. Erik immediately realized her and slammed back against the far wall. In his drugged mind the scream would have multiplied by ten in volume, and Nadir even had to cover his ears from the intensity that Haily's scream issued.

"Wh-wh-what is the m-m-matter w-with y-y-you!" she roared, marching over to Erik's crumpled form. "You've b-b-become ex-ex-exactly wh-wh-what you s-s-s-swore you n-n-never w-w-would! You m-m-monster!"

"I AM NOT A MONSTER!" Erik suddenly yelled.

"Y-y-yes you are!" Haily screamed back. "You are b-b-becoming one, and you d-d-don't s-s-s-see that you d-d-don't h-h-have too!" she swallowed all of her pride for this next statement. "You d-d-don't s-s-see that you are s-s-s-so m-m-much b-b-better! Th-th-those _people_ h-h-have you b-b-believing th-th-that y-y-you h-h-have to be one!"

Her voice reached a climax, "They have you using _that!_" She pointed to the hookah in the corner. "They have you believing these filthy lies that you are inferior to them, when it is they who are inferior to _you_!"

She fumbled for an instant and picked up Erik's mask, which he had thrown across the room moments before. "They have you hiding behind stupid, foolish masks, because they are too blind to actually _see anything for themselves_! Now you are becoming what they want. You are bending to their will! You've become the monster they've always thought you to be! Prove them wrong Erik, prove them…"

Haily was cut off as Erik leapt to his feet and sent Haily careening into the other wall with a full force punch to her lower jaw. "Stop it! Stop it! There is so much noise! I can't take it, all of you…every one of you talking, talking! Constantly talking! I just want to be left alone! Do you not understand? I just want to be left alone!" he staggered away into his room, half dragging himself and half crawling away.

"Pr-pr-prove…me w-w-wrong…" Haily finished finally, staggering to her feet.

Her lip was bleeding and blood was slowly filling her mouth. Nadir steadied her on her feet. "That" he said, helping her to her room. "Was either the bravest thing I have ever witnessed, or the most foolish."

His comment had the desired affect, Haily smiled as little as her cut mouth allowed. "C-c-c-certainly the l-l-latter."

Nadir sat her down on her bed, a quizzical look in his eyes. "Your stutter…"

"Wh-wh-what ab-ab-about it?" she asked, rubbing away the flecks of blood from her chin.

"It was…I mean, I didn't hear it a moment ago." Nadir said bewildered.

"M-m-m-maybe my s-s-scream d-d-damaged your h-h-hearing, my st-st-stutter d-d-didn't h-h-hasn't ch-ch-changed…" she shook her head.

"Yes." He agreed, thinking maybe he had been a bit confused after all. "Perhaps you are right."

"You sh-sh-should g-g-g-go and g-g-get s-s-some r-r-rest, Nadir. If an-an-anything el-el-else h-h-happens, I c-c-can h-h-handle it, but I d-d-d-doubt an-an-anything w-w-will. Erik's p-p-probably p-past out by n-n-now…" she wondered out loud.

"You really just as foolish as you act." He cocked a smile, which was a lie to his current mood. For a few moments during Haily's confrontation he seriously had feared for her life. She had gotten away extremely lucky, if he wanted to, Erik could have thrown her about like a rag doll. Although, secretly, he harbored a sense of respect for Haily. She was handling the situation with a sense of pride and strength he had never seen in a woman, let alone a man.. Nadir sighed, "I will wait out in the hall, if Erik does wake later he will deal with me this time."

Haily chuckled as she lay down on the soft mattress. "You are a g-g-g-good fr-fr-friend, Nadir. You kn-kn-know Erik th-th-th-thinks th-that too, r-right?"

"To be absolutely truthful with you Haily, I never know what to think around him."

Despite her present condition, Haily could not help but let out a slight chuckle; she winced and held her jaw.

She watched as Nadir promptly exited her room. The veil like curtain fluttered back down to its former stillness. She stared out past the curtain, just getting a glimpse of the outline of Erik's room. She let out a sigh, which caught in her throat causing her breath to rattle like a restless breeze on a dark night.

She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. Absent mindedly she rubbed her injured lip, dried blood was brushed away by her slow movements. She felt a deep rooted anger and frustration bubble to the surface.

But it was not directed at Erik, it was directed to everyone who had made him what he now was. If she ever saw the khanum again, she would rip her eyes out. She felt a pleasant ripple of hate run through her at the very notion of such a plan. She was going to drive Erik mad. Everyone in Persia was already making him crazy. If it was the last she ever did she was going to stop it before it got out of hand.

With those thoughts of death and hate Haily drifted off into a confused state of slumber.


	12. Haily's Illness

Well, here it is. Sorry it took so long to post it. Lots of chaos going 'round. Homework and the like. So enjoy, and I hope to have the next chapter up relativly soon.

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XII

Haily's Illness

Haily awoke with a pounding headache and with the realization that she must have slept through the better half of the afternoon and through the night as well. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she attempting to rise from the bed.

She felt sore all over, as if she had just fought a year long battle. Her mouth was reduced to a dull, throbbing ache. Memory of her previous nights encounter flooded her senses. Moving her tongue around experimentally she could still taste the salty yet irony tang of blood on her inner cheek. She had also acquired a nice sized bruise around her jaw and cheek.

Groaning she pushed back her scraggly and hopelessly uneven bangs from her face. She finally rose up and out of the bed and walked sluggishly over to her small set of drawers which contained her clothing.

She peeled off, rather than pulled off her last nights garments. She felt like the clothing was stuck to her practically and she was much to tired to fuss with her normal routine of folded and putting away her clothes. Instead she bundled them up and placed them in a pile near the foot of her bed. She could deal with them later. With sloth like movements she changed into her new clothing. The fabric felt cool and comfortable on her skin and she flexed her arms and legs to rub the morning stiffness out of them.

Walking over to her washroom she did not even bothering brushing out her hair. By the end of the day it would return to its natural state of chaos and tangles so she simple decided to let it be.

With a resigned sigh she splashed a little water on her face to wake her up. Reaching for one of the towels to her right she dried her face; after placing the now wet towel back on the rack she walked out of the room. She paused as she reached the curtains which separated her room from the others. She could just see one lone figure seated at the nearby desk.

Haily inhaled deeply and pushed her way out of the confines of her room. Erik did not even look up from his work. Haily could see sketches and small modals of what appeared to be, mirror-like designs for rooms.

Cautiously she took a seat in one of the chairs. Her eyes shifted from side to side in slight anxiety. Haily watched Erik silently; he looked terrible, apart from the obvious side effects of the drugs, he looked as if he had been up working all night with either little or no sleep. Haily, did not dare disturb him.

With sigh she heard Erik put his pen down on the desk. Abruptly he turned around to see her sitting there quietly. He looked as if he were about to say something when his eyes strayed to the bruise on her face. "What happened to you?" he asked sharply, making her jump up slightly.

"Oh…I…I..." she thought quickly, "I f-f-fell off of th-th-the b-b-bed, h-h-hit my s-s-self on the d-d-drawer n-n-next to it." She lied as only she knew how.

He gave her a long hard stare and for a moment Haily feared that he could see right through her lie. To her utter relief he responded, "That was damn foolish of you."

"I…I…" she spluttered, "y-y-yes it w-w-was." Haily couldn't tell who was more shocked by her answer. Erik, or herself, she never agreed with him on any subject matter trivial or not.

Erik removed himself from the desk. "Wait there, I may have something for that." He walked into his room.

Haily called out after him. "For th-th-the b-b-bruise or my f-f-f-foolishness?" she could not resist the comment.

Erik made no response as he reemerged, holding a small vile with what appeared to be some type of salve. Haily looked away, she could not stand the sudden awkward silence between them. Never had they gone this long without once screaming or arguing at one another.

Erik knelt down in front of Haily and opened the vile. He suddenly stopped, his gaze flickering back to the vile and then back up at Haily as if he was in a state of dire confusion.

Haily did not understand his hesitations. "Wh-wh-what? Are you af-af-afraid I'll b-b-bite?" she asked, forcing the light tone into her voice.

Briefly he glanced back up at her, and then once again his gaze trailed back down to the vile in his hands. It was as if he was not sure that he should touch her.

Haily leaned forward in her chair, still quite confused about his sudden reaction to her. "H-h-here." She said in a calm voice that was unlike her.

She carefully took the vile from Erik's hand and tipped the contents onto his palm, which she was holding steady with her other hand. After placing the vile down softly she brought his hand up to her cheek. "S-s-see, n-n-nothing to be af-af-afraid of."

As Erik hesitantly began to rub the salve around the bruise, Haily let go of his wrist. His hands were cold, almost icy, but she had no desire to move away. It was impossible to believe that these same gentle hands were the exact same ones that had injured her last night. A smile threatened to twitch its way across her lips, but Haily kept herself in check and chided herself mental for her strange reaction. After Erik was sure that he had applied enough of he salve to fully heal Haily's bruise he pulled away from her.

Haily felt herself grow hot and cold all over which stunned her a bit. Was she catching a fever? Nonsense, she had felt fine just a few moments ago.

Silently he bottled up the vile and quickly, as if he could not wait to get out of her sigh, he went to put the vile away.

Haily sighed, that stuff was actually working. She could hardly feel the bruise anymore the ache around her jaw was reduced to nothing more than dull throb and that she could easily ignore.

"Th-thank you." Haily said as Erik reappeared.

He shrugged his shoulders in response.

For a while not a word was passed between them. Erik resumed his work and Haily, seemed to be out of sorts for the moment. She still felt slightly, funny. It was as if her stomach was tied together. Perhaps she really was catching some sort of illness. "I'm…I'm g-g-going…out." She spluttered suddenly.

Erik turned around briefly. "Fine then, I don't suppose you could get yourself into too much trouble."

Haily nodded. What in hells' name was wrong with her? Now she was starting to feel quite dizzy, and yet the room wasn't exactly spinning in front of her eyes as much as she felt herself spinning.

With an uncharacteristic and awkward dash she bolted from the apartment. Once outside she let out a sigh. There was no doubt about it; she was defiantly coming down with a fever. She was sweating slightly and she still felt as if she was spinning across the floor.

Yet, she thought to herself as she made her way over to one of the many bazaars in the nearby area, she felt oddly good. Was this one of the foreign illnesses people back at home always warned her about? It couldn't possibly be, she hadn't felt this good in years; but there were still the other symptoms to be wary about. Sudden chills, dizziness, and nausea. She shrugged to herself, maybe it really was nothing. The more she walked the better she started to feel. Maybe all she needed was some time to herself.

After a good long walk she made her way back towards the apartment. She opened the door cautiously. She was slightly surprised to see that no one was anywhere to be seen. She shrugged, that was usual; Erik had been called away by the court several times before.

Curiously she glanced at some of Erik's sketches and models. She knelt down beside a particularly interesting one; she supposed that this was supposed to be a model of a mirrored room. She wasn't quite sure what it was supposed to be used for, but the design was fascinating all the same.

As she was busy examining it she failed to notice the sound of a door being opened. By the time she realized what was happening it was too late. "What do you think you are doing?" Erik's voice cut through the still silence like a swift steel blade.

Haily jumped back, completely startled. Quickly Erik snatched up the model as Haily muttered an excuse. "I d-d-didn't t-t-touch an-anything, I s-s-swear!"

"Good, because it would have been extremely unlucky for you if you had." Erik hissed, staring eye level at Haily.

Suddenly she felt her cheeks burn and the dizzy spell that had begun to fade had now returned with a vengeance. She hadn't realized it, but in her silent state of thought her expression had taken on a glaring like quality.

Erik, assuming she was about to start another one of her famous arguments sighed, "Now what is it?"

She stammered, "I'm…I'm g-g-glaring at you for n-no par-particular r-reason is there a p-p-problem with th-that?"

Erik had absolutely nothing to say to that. Of all the things he was expecting Haily to say, that ridiculous response was certainly not among them. In the awkward silence Haily sprang to her feet and headed towards her room. "I h-h-have to g-go!" she shouted over her shoulder, her stomach was doing flip flops and suddenly it was getting rather hard to breath.

In her haste she barely even saw Nadir; with a curt nod of her head she acknowledged his presence then disappeared from sight by ducking into her room.

Erik placed the model of the mirrored room back on his desk with a small sigh. "What was that about?" Nadir asked quizzically. "I've never seen her act like that before."

"No, no, neither have I, she has been acting like that all day." Erik stated calmly. "No doubt she has her reasons."

Haily huddled into the corner of her room, the tightness in her chest had faded, but she still felt as if all manner of butterflies had just made their home in her stomach and chest. She felt horrible, yet elated, and then again she felt like she was going to throw up, but the next minute she felt as if she was going laugh until her sides hurt. What strange disease was this? The blush and warmth from her cheeks were residing, but she still felt shivery all over and yet she had no desire to lie down and rest. In fact she felt as if she could have ran the entire length of the palace twice and still have enough energy to sprint all the way back home again.

She felt her forehead hesitantly; well she didn't _feel_ that she had a fever. She exhaled deeply calming herself, slowly the feeling drifted away and she was starting to feel like her normal self again.

Suddenly, she remembered the pile of clothing that she had not put away in the morning. She walked over to the foot of her bed and picked up the ball of clothing and began to fold it in silence.

While dealing with her chore she pushed all thoughts of a possible illness from her mind. Instead she focused on that strange mirrored room that Erik had constructed. She wondered what was possibly going to be used for, but could come up with nothing. Leave it to Erik to build the most curious things.

As if on cue she felt her face flare up with heat and her stomach tightened up again. She finished putting away her clothes and stood with her back against the drawers. She shut her eyes tight and willed these strange symptoms to go away. She rubbed her temples slowly. What was wrong with her?

Maybe she should consider telling Erik about this, he was after all, known for making medicines for certain sicknesses. Again she was struck with the sudden feeling of dizziness. Yes, she was defiantly going to ask him if he could help her. With a cry of frustration she dashed her head against the chest of drawers.

She came away rubbing her forehead, maybe she was being to hasty. After all, along with the odd symptoms she felt pleasantly content and good. Did she want to undo those feelings? She sat down on the edge of her bed contemplating her options. She sighed and recomposed herself. When she was sure she was under control she reemerged from her room.

"Are you all right?" Nadir asked Haily, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Yes…" she stammered.

Erik was pacing back and forth and he seemed to deep in thought to have even really noticed her presence anymore. Haily found herself unable to look at anything, or anyone else, but him. Oblivious of this she smiled, "I'm f-fine."

_Right, something is defiantly wrong with me!_


End file.
